SOUTHWELL RACECOURSE
Course: Southwell racecourse - BetUK Winter Derby
🎫 Ticket & value: ‘Day at the Races’ Package £23 Early Bird, £26 Full Price
👀 Track view: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍔 Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍺 Guinness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭕️ Parade Ring: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🏇 Runners and riders: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎉 Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️ Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
👍🏻 Best for: Track View 👀
We were invited down to Southwell Racecourse located in the heart of Nottinghamshire for the BetUK Winter Derby fixture and we’ve got to say we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of racecourse. We were able to enjoy the ‘Day at the Races’ Package on offer which included a Pie, Pint or soft drink and a racecard, and with 9 races across the card (including the £100,000 Group 3) it was a wonderful experience watching AW racing in daytime and into the beautiful evening.
Starting with the Track View and Southwell boasts a magnificent view of the racecourse from both the grandstands and the rail. From the grandstands you are able to experience the full race from start to finish, watching the horses gallop up the home straight and away from the stands around the left-handed oval circuit. With no obstructions in the centre of the track, you are able to see the horses back around the far side of the flat track before flying down the home straight to an unobstructed winning post. When stood by the rail, the standing area is slightly lowered next to the track which makes watching the race on the far side slightly more difficult. However, the ability to get up close to the track and the winning post offer a magnificent experience hearing the horses thunder home on the AW surface. A brilliant part of the day was being able to watch the horses load up and leave the stall for the main event, The Winter Derby, providing racing fans with an opportunity to see and hear exactly what goes on between the jockeys, staff and horses as they head into the stalls.
As mentioned we were invited to experience the ‘Day at the Races’ package, and we tucked into a delicious Steak and Ale pie with the ticket. The pastry was crisp and well cooked, and the filling was packed with flavour and tenderness. For £2 extra, you were able to add mash potato or fries, mushy peas and gravy. The mushy peas were soft and tasty, whilst the mash potato was soft, creamy and delicious. Admittedly, the staff chucked plenty of gravy on top (slightly too much) however this didn’t ruin the meal in anyway. With 9 races on the card, we started to get a little peckish later and had a choice of a gourmet Hot Dog, Fish and Chips or Gyros trackside. We opted for the hotdog and for £11.99 were treated to an absolute monster, a large, succulent hot dog topped with onions, pulled pork and slaw with copious amount of sauce. The hotdog itself was delicious and flavoursome, and it was certainly fantastic value especially given it was trackside where you could enjoy both the food and the racing.
The Guinness at Southwell racecourse was priced at the top end of the market at £7.65, and whilst the taste, creaminess and pour were decent enough the pint overall wasn’t as good as expected. We must say that the bar staff on the day were tremendous, really well trained and attentive across the whole day and this consistency was great to see (especially when paying £7.65).
The Parade Ring at Southwell racecourse is absolutely stunning, set with a backdrop of trees and greenery it embodied a calm and peaceful atmosphere pre race. Although located quite a way from the track, the modern layout of the parade ring means you can follow the horses journey from the stables, into the parade ring and out to the track itself. This is a wonderful experience and provides spectators with a fantastic opportunity to truly understand the process the horses go through to prepare for a race.
The Runners & Riders on the card were excellent due to the Group 3 Winter Derby on the card, as well as a listed race. This attracted big names coming back from all over the globe including William Buick, David Egan and Hollie Doyle to name just a few. This also resulted in top trainers being in attendance for the raceday with the likes of John Gosden, Karl Burke and Richard Hannon present on the day to support their jockeys and horses running. It was brilliant to see such a fantastic line-up on the day, and there was plenty of opportunity for fans to meet and take photos with their favourite stars!
The atmosphere across the racecourse was bright and bubbly with lots of local people clearly enjoying the packed 9 race card. Inside the grandstand the screens were showing the rugby, which added to the atmosphere, whilst people crowded round the screens above the William Hill bookmakers as well. There was a buzz around the winners enclosure with top jockeys hovering around for pictures and signature, which really added to the warm feeling around the racecourse.
Overall, Southwell racecourse offers racing fans a fantastic opportunity to experience some competitive and high quality AW racing in a beautiful location. The layout of the racecourse offers fantastic viewing of the races, brilliant exposure to the jockeys and horses pre and post race and some delicious food options trackside. The ‘Day at the Races’ package is an affordable ticket price to enjoy the day and encourage more people to attend the Winter Derby next year. We’ll certainly be returning!
That’s the Paddock Preview for Southwell Racecourse, where shall we head next?
