Saturday Sell-Out!

The grandstand was packed, the centre course full to the brim and the bars swarming with excited racegoers on Saturday at Perth Racecourse as the Carnival Race Day came to town! It was a great day and the atmosphere was electric, as fears over the weather were quickly forgotten when the sunshine made its appearance.

The only Saturday meeting of 2017 was a complete sell-out and with no admittance on the day, an absolute first for Perth Racecourse! The crowd were treated to some fantastic jump racing, as well as first-class entertainment in true carnival style. Think magicians, stilt walkers and dancers – as well as a UB40 tribute band entertaining the crowd after the final race.

On the back of the huge turnout for the Carnival Race Day, Perth Racecourse has announced that they’ll be adding a second Saturday fixture to next year’s schedule which is sure to whet the fans’ appetite.

Clearly delighted with another fantastic weekend at the racecourse, Hazel Peplinski, chief executive at Perth, was keen to make sure that those who missed out on the only Saturday fixture on the calendar would get double the chance of coming along next year.

“Our Carnival Race Day was a fantastic success and everyone who managed to get a ticket appeared to have a fabulous day out.  Saturday was the first fixture at Perth Racecourse to ever sell-out and the buzz around the enclosures was just amazing. It just proves that if we can secure customer friendly slots in the fixture list then there is an enormous appetite for attending which is exciting for the future.

“Whilst we’ve only had one Saturday meeting for a number of years at Perth, a new fixture process for 2018 has allowed us to win a second Saturday which shall hopefully take the pressure off this very established carnival event. The advice shall be to buy tickets early to avoid disappointment! The two Saturday dates next year are 23^rd June and 18^th August, and the advice shall be to buy tickets early to avoid disappointment!”

The day itself was a successful one for Donald McCain, with the well-respected trainer netting an impressive treble, most notably Dear Sire who was crowned as the winner of the Spirits of Scone Stone of Destiny Handicap Hurdle, Saturday’s feature race.

Lady Mansfield presented a specially commissioned Stone of Destiny trophy in the parade ring in what was a debut race with a mouth-watering £25,000 prize to go along with the stunning trophy sponsored by Scone Palace.

We’re coming towards the end of what has been another fantastic season at Perth Racecourse, with the Autumn Race Day next on the calendar before the Glorious Finale at the end of next month. The Autumn Race Day takes place on Monday 11^th September and there’s another new race on the race card which is hoped will attract some of the best horses, jockeys and trainers to head north once again.

GALLERY

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Gates for the Autumn Race Day open at 12:00, with the first race scheduled for 14:05 and the last race at 17:05.

Tickets are available on the Perth Racecourse website.