Wetherby Racecourse

🐎 Course: Wetherby (Peak and Pearls Day)

🎫 Ticket & value: £20 Paddock Stand

👀 Track view: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍔 Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍺 Guinness: ⭐️⭐️

⭕️ Parade Ring: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🏇 Runners and riders: ⭐️⭐️

🎉 Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐️ Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

👍🏻 Best for: Parade ring ⭕️

Located no further than a 30 minute drive from Leeds city centre, Wetherby racecourse provides a wonderful opportunity for racing fans in Yorkshire to experience National hunt racing. The Peaks and Pearls theme was evident throughout the racecourse, Wetherby made a fantastic effort to put on photo booths, decorate bars and offer music and musicians as entertainment on the day. With free parking given with every ticket purchased, and shuttle buses running for free after the races back into Wetherby, it’s extremely accessible for racegoers who want to drive or have a few drinks on the day.

Starting with the track view, this is one of Wetherby racecourses best features! With an excellent view of the left handed track from the stands, you can see the vast majority of the race from the grandstand with the paddock ticket entry. In addition, when down by the rail you get a fantastic view of the horses going down to post, as the horses come cantering past the stand side down to the bottom end of the track. This is an amazing opportunity to get close to the horses to appreciate the size, pace and strength of these wonderful animals. Of course, when by the rail you get a great view of the horses coming up the long home straight, with plenty of hurdles and fences for the horses to take in the back straight. The only aspect that marks it down is because Wetherby has 2 tracks (hurdle and chase) it results in the jockeys and horses finishing the race on the inside of the track, quite far away from the stand side.

The racecourse clearly made an effort with the food options that were on offer on the day, with a range of vans from the usual gourmet burgers, chips and hotdogs alongside local pasties and stone-baked pizzas to order. For desserts they offered a doughnut van, local brownies and cakes and even an old fashioned sweet shop, all of which was positioned next to the parade ring. For £6 I opted for the chicken and chorizo pasty, which was large in size and tasted excellent, before opting for a brownie and coffee for dessert for around £6 as well. For a local raceday event, it was great to see the racecourse make an effort to put some variety in the food options whilst still making them affordable.

Unfortunately, the Guinness didn’t quite match some of the previous racecourses we’ve visited. The first pint I had was poured correctly, left to rest and was crisp, cold and enjoyable. However, the next pint was the opposite, poured straight through, not as cold and that told in the taste. This showed inconsistency across the racecourse having visited 2 different bars on the day. However, at £6.95 the price point was a positive compared to some tracks that are charging well over £7.

The parade ring at Wetherby is by far the centrepiece of the racecourse. Located centrally between the stables and stands and with the food vans and bars placed nearby, the stunning parade ring gives racegoers an excellent view of the horses and jockeys pre race. Large in size and with plenty of tiered standing, you overlook the parade ring as it slides downhill slightly, giving you a brilliant view of the horses parading. Equally, the podium and presentations are conducted in front of the tiered standing which allows punters to get up close to the racehorses, jockeys and owners post race. A wonderful aspect of the parade ring at Wetherby is access to the pre parade ring, as you can see the horses get saddled up and checked before making their way down to the parade ring, which you can watch the whole way. Additionally, you get great access to the horses going out to the track, as although the horses are quite a distance away, the path the horses take can be followed the majority of the way. A wonderful parade ring and up there with some of the best.

Unfortunately, with racing on at Cheltenham for the November meeting the majority of the top jockeys and horses were racing there. This, partnered with dry weather, meant that field sizes were very small and the racing lacked a lot of competitiveness which the crowd and day itself deserved. Brian Hughes topped the jockey list alongside Danny McMenamin and Sean Quinlan with northern trainers Rebecca Menzies and Ann Hamilton also in attendance for their riders.

Despite the lack of racing quality, this didn’t dampen the atmosphere at Wetherby races. People were dressed up in their Peaks and Pearls, buying into the raceday itself and there was a real buzz around the bars and betting ring pre and post race. Whilst the crowd size wasn’t enormous, plenty of noise was made as the horses came home and it was a shame that the racecard didn’t give the punters what they deserved. Nevertheless, I was impressed with the raceday atmosphere and would love to see it at a big meeting like the Charlie Hall.

Overall, Wetherby provided an excellent opportunity to watch racing for a fantastic price, with good food options, a decent atmosphere and excellent facilities. The track view and parade ring are brilliant, and for racing fans who prioritise access and views of the horses before and after the race, then Wetherby is the course for you! A wonderful day, great theme and hopefully next year they have a card that matches the crowd and racecourse itself.