sedgefield racecourse
Course: Sedgefield Racecourse - Student Raceday
🎫 Ticket & value: £20 Grandstand Student Raceday
👀 Track view: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍔 Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍺 Guinness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭕️ Parade Ring: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🏇 Runners and riders: ⭐️⭐️
🎉 Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️ Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
👍🏻 Best for: Parade Ring ⭕️
Located in the North East of England just off of the A1, Sedgefield Racecourse is a lovely and unique track providing competitive racing at affordable prices. We visited on their Student Sunday Raceday, and for £20 we were able to enjoy some good food, a lively atmosphere (thanks to @invades) and unique access to the horses, jockeys and trainers.
Starting with the Track View, Sedgefield is a basic left-handed oval track that presents horses and jockeys with steep inclines and rapid descents towards the winning post. A unique racecourse in its own right, the horses when travelling on the far side of the track and away from the stands are met with a steep and slow incline to the top end. However, after passing the top of the track they are then met with a descent of similar proportions heading to the last fence. Once pinging the final fence, they are then met with another hill all the way to the winning post. With a design like this, it’s no wonder there are plenty of course specialists at this racecourse. In terms of view of the track, you have excellent access in line with the winning post, can view the majority of racing on the far side of the track and can even watch them from behind travel away from the stands. Some of the races start after the winning post, giving fans an excellent opportunity to watch the flag raise and horses jump off as the race begins.
Moving onto food at the racecourse; for a Sunday race meeting there were a few options available such as a hog roast, pie, fish and chips, the usual burger van and coffee stalls. Despite the lack of options, the hog roast food stall really delivered! For £8 you were able to buy a spectacular hog roast roll that also included stuffing, apple sauce and lathers of gravy. The pork was soft and succulent, with the gravy adding a lovely element to the roll… a wonderful example of racecourse food on a chilly winter’s day. Unfortunately, the pie and the fish and chips didn’t quite match the same quality in taste. Despite being affordably priced at £8.49, it was clear that the pie had been left to sit in the hot counter for a long period which dried out the pastry of the chicken, gammon and leek pie. I must say though that the mushy peas were tremendous, and the chips were also cooked very well.
Continuing our journey to find the best racecourse Guinness, Sedgefield had a mountain to climb when pricing their pints at £7.50! However, the bartender did his best to recover the poor start and clearly knew how to pour a good Guinness. Presented in a sustainable plastic cup, the Guinness was left to settle for the appropriate amount of time and poured perfectly. It produced a creamy head and the taste was crisp and cool matching the weather. Overall, a solid pint of Guinness but it was disappointing at the price point, particularly on a student race day.
Now we arrive at the most unique and wonderful aspect of this racecourse: the Parade Ring! Unlike any we’ve been to so far, the parade ring is positioned next to the track itself with a large stand behind it to allow owners, trainers and racegoers incredible access. Furthermore, because of its position you’re able to watch the horses journey from the stables into the pre-parade ring, before heading to the main parade ring and then directly access the track. As racing fans who love being up close to the horses and seeing how the stable staff, trainers and jockeys prepare them for a race, this access is unrivalled compared to the racecourses we’ve visited so far. The parade ring at Sedgefield is a stunning racecourse feature and a standout element to the spectator race day experience.
Regarding the Runners & Riders on the day, most of the card was taken up by Class 4/5 handicaps. Because of the location, Sedgefield often attracts local trainers such as the familiar faces of Rebecca Menzies, Micky Hammond and Jenny Candlish. Same goes for the local jockeys that often race there, including Danny McMenamin, Sean Quinlan, Brian Hughes, Richie McLernon and Jonny Burke to name just a few. Nevertheless, the racing was competitive across the card and the majority had exciting finishes for the punters to enjoy.
The atmosphere trackside was very much a ‘tale of two’ between the average racegoers and the students. This was a surprising yet enjoyable element to the day itself. As it was a student race day, the course had linked up with the Invades events company that provides race days for students all over the UK. Whilst hearing plenty of amazing stories about Invades and seeing how successful they’ve become, it was great to experience this first hand and hear from the students about the service being provided. For £30 a head, students are provided transport to and from the racecourse, a racing ticket and access to a huge marquee with its own bar, betting rings, Tv screens and DJ for the post-race after party. Accessing the marquee, the atmosphere was buzzing where students milled between the staffed bar, the e-bar facility, the betting ring and the live racing action on the TV screens. It was great to see such a buzz on a Sunday race day fixture, particularly at a smaller racecourse.
Outside of the Invades marquee, the stands were fairly quiet and subdued with many racegoers clearly regulars and locals. Fortunately, the students came trackside for the racing itself which provided a wonderful buzz in the stands during the race.
Overall, Sedgefield racecourse is a track that we would highly recommend to racegoers living in the North East of England, or racing fans visiting the area. It provided unique, close-up access to the horses, trainers and jockeys and is home to a brilliant track where you can enjoy large parts of the racing on show. Furthermore, the food is well priced for what is on offer and whilst the Guinness costs a pretty penny, the taste and care taken by the bar staff makes up for the steep price point. Finally, for anyone thinking of avoiding student rave days… think again! The Invades event gave the race day a much needed buzz around the racecourse and provided a brilliant atmosphere trackside which I’m sure the jockeys and horses would’ve enjoyed.
Well done Sedgefield Racecourse, we’ll definitely be returning! Where shall the Paddock Preview go next?
