wincanton racecourse
Course: Wincanton
🎫 Ticket & value: £18 Keegan Kirby Raceday
👀 Track view: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍔 Food: ⭐️⭐️
🍺 Guinness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭕️ Parade Ring: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🏇 Runners and riders: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎉 Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️ Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
👍🏻 Best for: Track View 👀
A raceday that truly provided a special occasion in the memory of Keegan Kirby, Wincanton racecourse delivered a fantastic and affordable days racing where crowds gathered to remember the local P2P jockey and stable rider. The bright sunshine overlooked the beautiful Somerset track with competitive racing and good crowds throughout the day, with the proceeds from the £18 ticket going to the foundation.
Wincanton racecourse is a flat, oval and right-handed track that enables racegoers to see the vast majority of the track from most positions. Up in the stands, you’re provided with a stunning view of the entire racecourse as the horses come down the long home straight, past the winning post and then peel away again to the far side. Other than a small building situated in the middle of the course, you can view the vast majority of the track which is brilliant for the jumps season. When positioned by the rail, you still have a good sight of the track as you can see large parts of the far side, whilst still maintaining a great view of the horses finishing powerfully up the home straight. However, by the rail you struggle to watch them turn in from the far end because of the length of the home straight.
The food options at Wincanton weren’t too bad but not the best, with two vans around the track offering racegoers your standard burgers, hotdogs and chips that you’d see at most venues. Unfortunately, the burger wasn’t great as it was overcooked, poor quality meat with the usual plastic cheese and red cabbage garnish soaking into the bun for around the £7.50 mark. However, the foot long hotdog was excellent in taste and showed that track did offer a better food option at reasonable prices. For £8, the hotdog itself was cooked very well, with an excellent bun, good sauce and some crispy onions to top it off. Around the rest of the track there was also a coffee and cake van providing local pastries and hot drinks, as well as a savoury van that also offered hot drinks alongside warm pasties and sausage rolls.
We’ve found another great example of a racecourse that pours a strong pint of Guinness time and time again. The bar staff were evidently taught the perfect pour and trained well as despite the busy queues and under staffing, each Guinness was still given the proper treatment. Left to settle for ample time and poured with the perfect head, the Guinness was cold, creamy and delicious as well as being presented in a better quality plastic cup compared to the basic range. For £6.95, all we can say is well done Wincanton on a brilliant and affordable pint of Guinness! The cheapest pint we have come across during our reviews so far.
The parade ring at Wincanton is a brilliant size, with some tiered standing positioned for when the placed and winning horses come back in, giving the racegoers a good view of the horses cooling down and winning connections post race. Another excellent aspect about the parade ring is having great views of the pre-parade ring and stables, where you have a great view of watching the trainers saddling the horses up and vets checking over the horses pre race. You can then follow the horses from the pre-parade ring into the parade ring itself. Whilst the parade ring flows wonderfully from the pre-parade, unfortunately you lose sight of the horses when they head over to the track itself due to its position and distance away from track itself. Consequently, because of its positioning and the way horses enter the track you can only access the parade ring from one side, not the full way around.
The atmosphere at Wincanton matched the occasion perfectly, a large local crowd, a lot dressed in tweed who seemed to be there not only to enjoy the racing but more importantly to raise money for a great cause in the Keegan Kirby Foundation. There was a buzz around the parade ring before each race and that followed into the bars and trackside. The betting ring seemed busy throughout the day as the racegoers enjoyed competitive racing across the card. Despite the large crowd sizes, when the horses raced up the long home straight the crowds weren’t quite as noisy and enthusiastic to match the number of people in the stands, which was a slight disappointment.
The card hosted some competitive racing across the majority of the day, with in form trainer and jockey pair Sam Twiston Davies and James Owen sending down another winner for the Gredley owners. There were some great local trainers and jockeys in attendance including champion trainer Paul Nicholls, the in-form Joe Tizzard and Anthony Honeyball all having runners on the card. Despite Aintree also running on the Sunday, there were some top jockeys racing including Brendan Powell, David Bass and Nico De Boinville, which was great for the racing fans, as well as top claimers having rides such as Freddie Gordon and Ben Bromley.
Overall, the Keegan Kirby Raceday provided racegoers with a wonderful racing experience, with good food options, competitive racing and some decent jockeys and horses on show. The course itself allows racing fans a fantastic view of the whole track from the stands, an opportunity to watch the horses get saddled up before the race and an excellent pint of Guinness. Despite being fairly isolated with car, taxi or bus providing the easiest route to the track, free parking is on offer which is included in the excellent ticket price. If you’re looking for an affordable and brilliant local racecourse to attend, then we highly recommend you take a trip to Wincanton!
