*Paid post in partnership with Great British Racing
This summer we’ve been working with Great British Racing to discover the fun that can be had at many of their family fun days as part of the ‘Under 18’s Race Free’ initiative. Over 60 racecourses across the UK have family friendly fixtures where under 18s are admitted free of charge when accompanied by a paying adult. This weekend we were invited to Worcester Racecourse to enjoy their Family Fun Raceday and soak up the late summer sunshine.
Having never previously been to Worcester Racecourse I had no idea what to expect unlike my husband Greg who had been on various occasions previously with a group of his friends. He explained that all parking is inside the racetrack and the horses run around the track during a race meaning we had to walk across the racetrack to get to where the activities where, much to our son Olly’s delight. He thought it was really cool that we could cross the racetrack again, as we did at Ascot earlier in the summer.
The family fun activities were held in the Centre Course Enclosure and was only accessible before or after races took place. On Sunday there were 7 races throughout the afternoon plus a fun Mascot charity race for The British Heart Foundation, which invited Mascots from various local clubs and charities to take part in. We watched the race from the Grandstand and it was a brilliant race and the crowd all got involved and cheered their favourite mascot on.
As part of our Raceday package, we were invited to enjoy a meal in the Severn Restaurant with views over the racecourse. Our package included a 3 course meal with drinks and a race card which included all the details of the days races along with key information such as jockey information, trainer names and the horses current form. My husband Greg knows a thing or two about placing horse racing whereas Olly and I chose our favourite horses by their names.
After a delicious meal in the restaurant, we went down to the Parade Ring to take a look at the horses. Olly was really interested in looking at how tall the horses were and how short some of the jockeys appeared to be. He was really interested in watching them walk around and it was nice to be able to see the horses quite closely.
Free family fun activities to join in with
We watched a race from the Grandstand which gave us good views of the finish line and then Olly was desperate to join in with the free family fun activities. At each racecourse, there’s a whole host of free activities the children can enjoy. At Worcester this weekend there were bouncy castles, dualling battles, the big ball challenge and mini quad bikes to ride on and enjoy. There was also a magic show, free face painting and balloon modelling.
As the weather was beautiful, the racecourse was busy with families and I loved to see lots of families had bought picnics with them and had thought ahead and bought camping chairs and blankets to sit on. It was a fantastic atmosphere and all the children (and adults) looked as though they were enjoying their day.
We all had a brilliant day out at Worcester Racecourse. Olly had a fantastic afternoon bouncing away on the bouncy castles and loved driving one of the mini quad bikes around the track. We were even treated to an ice cream as Greg managed to pick a winner, lucky us! It was a great afternoon of family fun and one that was enjoyed by lots of other families too.
Catch a Family Fun Raceday in September
Throughout September there are still some Family Fun Day fixtures taking place at various racecourses up and down the UK including Fontwell Park and York on Saturday 8th. You can find out more about ‘Under 18’s Race Free‘ and find a racecourse near you here.
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