Mayoral charities and fundraising events at the racecourse!

The Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Bert Turner hosted an action-packed charity evening at the races on Thursday 19 April, 2012.

The first race was at 6pm and all involved had great fun! On the evening, the Mayor managed to raise a whopping £859.15 for his chosen charities which are Compton Hospice, The Alzheimer's Society Wolverhampton Branch, and The Acute Medical Ward for Dementia, New Cross Hospital, well done all!

Happy Birthday Horizons!

2007 was a big year in the UK, the new Wembley stadium was completed costing £778 million pounds, Gordon Brown replaced Tony Blair as the prime minister of Great Britain, Timbaland ft Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake were number one with give it to me….. And more importantly, our very own brand new Horizons Restaurant opened its doors for the first time! 

Over the last five years, Horizons has wined and dined over 50,000 guests! The restaurant, opened by the then Mayor, Councillor John Davis on 21st April 2007 received a massive £500,000 investment. The building work, which was scheduled to take four months to complete, created an amazing tiered viewing restaurant that really has the WOW factor. With views across the racecourse, Horizons allows guests to relax in a modern, contemporary setting and enjoy an afternoon or evening  of racing.

With Head Chef Chris Gordon leading the way, creating mouth-watering menus for each fixture and with a cracking team of catering staff to back him up, the food in Horizons really does need to be savoured! Set high in the main Grandstand Horizons is not only one of the most stylish dining venues in the city but also within the racing industry. Open for every fixture this fabulous restaurant can accommodate up to 370 guests in superb comfort. 

Managing Director David Roberts said “Horizons is a stunning restaurant and we are thrilled with its success over the last 5 years. Catering for hundreds of diners at each of our race meeting throughout the year is a tough task, but the dedication of the staff in the restaurant really does make us one of the best dining experiences in Wolverhampton. We are proud to offer exceptional value for money here with Horizons dining packages from just £39.95pp. Here’s hoping for another successful 5 years!”.

Left to Right - David Roberts, Managing Director. Horizons regulars Phil Boucher and Courtney Donaldson and Head Chef Chris Gordon. 

Will Tweet Lady be winning at the racecourse?

Tweet Lady bids to get back on track with a win for Britain’s biggest free racing club at Wolverhampton Twitterati racehorse, Tweet Lady, who fronts the UK’s biggest free Racing Club for the Twitter community, recently returned to training for her second season and has high hopes for her second race of the season, which will be run tomorrow night (Saturday 21st) at Wolverhampton Racecourse. 

Known as  peoples horse, the three year-old filly provides tweeps with the chance to enjoy some of the benefits of owning a racehorse, simply by following her on Twitter and becoming a part of The People’s Horse Club. Tweet Lady, who’s trained in Devon by Rod Millman and is ridden by his jockey son James, has attracted over 2,000 followers on Twitter. She will be making the journey to Wolverhampton Racecourse to meet twenty of her lucky followers, who have won the opportunity to be representative owners on the night.

This racehorse-owning experience was launched by Racing for Change in 2011, with the aim of giving online users the chance to learn more about the sport of horse racing and the thrill of being part of the action. Through Twitter, Tweet Lady gives her followers a unique insight into her stable life, training regime and hopes before racing, as well as an opportunity to watch her in action on the track.

James Millman, Assistant Trainer and Stable Jockey, said: “We’re pleased that Racing for Change is leasing Tweet Lady for a second season and hope that this extension will offer many more the chance to share in the excitement of owning a racehorse. She’s got plenty of character and this leads to some good reading on Twitter. Now we’re just hoping that she will land another win!”

You can follow The People’s Horse on Twitter @peopleshorse or visit www.thepeopleshorse.co.uk to find out more.

All-Weather Championships and April entertainment!

On Friday 30th March, we had the pleasure of hosting the presentations for the the British All Weather Jockeys Championship. The championship, which is decided on ridden winners of flat races taking place on the all-weather between 09/11/11 to 30/03/12 was won by Joe Fanning, who clinched the title at Lingfield with a double win. Joe clinched the title after winning 89 times from 438 rides. Luke Morris (86 wins from 648 rides) narrowly missed out after only managing 8th place on Mister Green in the 4.30 at Lingfield. 

David Roberts, Managing Director of Wolverhampton, Worcester and Southwell Racecourses presents a cheque for £10,000, memento and Champagne to Joe Fanning, winner of the 2011/2012 Arena Leisure All Weather Jockeys Championship.

Luke Morris, runner up jockey in the Arena Leisure All Weather Championship receives a cheque for £5000, memento and Champagne from Kate Hills.

In other news, we have two fantastic live music evenings lined up for you in April. The 14th sees The Bon Jovi Experience return to the Ringside for a fantastic evening of classic rock anthems. Tickets are selling fast, although we do still have some availability left in the Ringside and Horizons restaurants. If you fancy popping along, Click Here for more information.

April 21st sees Wolverhampton Racecourse newcomers Hipster performing. The guys will get you up dancing with epic tunes from the Beatles and Van Morrison to The Killers and the Kings of Leon. If you fancy this evening, we only have availability left in Horizons as the Ringside is sold out! Click Here to see more from Hipster and to book tickets.

Have a great few weeks, lets hope the weather stays warm!

PS. Tickets are available for our Family Fun day on Monday August 20th, Rastamouse will be making appearances throughout the day with our very own Freddie Furlong. Kids go free and adults start at just £10.00! For more information, Click Here.