Huge Crowds for First Race of the Season

The first race of the 2017 season saw an attendance of 9,200 race fans and families at Bath Racecourse, making it the busiest meeting since 2007. The meeting was also the first time the course has hosted a meeting on Good Friday.

The Good Friday meeting also saw a prize pot of £175,000, the largest ever prize pot for the course. The meeting kicked off the first full season with the completed new facilities at the Racecourse.

Speaking about the first meeting of the 2017 season, Jo Hall, Executive Director at Bath Racecourse said “A lot of planning and preparation went into the Good Friday meeting. There was certainly a very special atmosphere, both from staff in the run up to the day who were excited about the start of the 2017 season, as well as from the thousands of guests that attended on the day.

“Bath Racecourse has been transformed with the new facilities, and we are now more than simply a racecourse. We are a venue that appeals to both race fans and people looking for a fun day out. It has been our aim to broaden the appeal of the venue, and we worked hard to ensure there was plenty to do and see. It was particularly pleasing to see so many families. Bath Racecourse is now an attraction for everyone.

“We have high hopes that the 2017 season will be a special one for Bath Racecourse.”

Eight races were run, with the feature race being the £60,000 Bathwick Tyres Handicap Stakes for three year olds run over 1m 3f, as well as the Dribuild Group Handicap Stakes for 4 year olds and upwards worth £50,000.