Mayor’s charities in Stafford

A James Bond-themed ball to raise money for the mayor’s charities in Stafford took on another spy like twist with the news that a helicopter ride is one of the auction prizes.

The Mayor of Stafford Borough’s ‘Diamonds are Forever’ Ball marks the Queen’s Jubilee and 50 years of Bond films.

The Mayor, Councillor Bryan Cross MBE and Mayoress, Lily Cross, will be hosting the event at the Ingestre Suite at Staffordshire County Showground on Friday 7 December. The sparkling evening starts with a martini reception at 7.15pm followed by a three-course dinner at 8pm, the charity auction and raffle, 007-themed entertainment and dancing to live band ‘Intrigue’.

All proceeds from the evening go to the Mayor of Stafford Borough’s nominated charities which are Katharine House Hospice and Oak Tree Farm Rural Project.

As a tribute to the world’s most recognised secret agent, one of the auction prizes is a ride for three in a Robinson R44 helicopter (pictured), courtesy of Miles Brough, of local aluminium and industrial waste processor, the JBMI Group.

Other auction prizes on the night include a day or night at Wolverhampton Racecourse with a three-course meal in Horizons Restaurant and post-race entertainment, a tour of the House of Commons with afternoon tea and a cast bronze model of a Hercules Aircraft. 

Tickets for the Ball cost £38.50 per person with tables seating 10 or 12 guests. 

For more information and to reserve your tickets visit www.staffordbc.gov.uk/mayors-diamond-ball, call 01785 619 300 or email events@staffordbc.gov.uk before Thursday 8 November 2012. 

Live Music this Saturday!

With just 3 live music evenings left before the Christmas parties begin, here is a quick update for fixture and availability info for the coming weeks!

October 2012

• Thursday 25th:-Evening
• Friday 26th:- Evening
• Saturday 27th:- Live music from Atomic Jones Evening (good availability)
• Tuesday 30th:- Afternoon

A-TOM-IC JONES & The Explosive Reload Orchestra are the ultimate live Tom Jones experience, featuring some of the country's finest musician's, led by the very energetic and charismatic A-TOM-IC JONES, who possesses a voice full of power and raw energy.

November 2012

• Friday 2nd:- Afternoon
• Monday 5th:- Afternoon
• Tuesday 6th:- Afternoon
• Thursday 8th:- Afternoon
• Friday 9th:- Afternoon
• Friday 16th:- Afternoon
• Saturday 17th:- Live music from Michael Jackson Tribute Evening (good availability)
• Monday 19th:- Afternoon
• Friday 23rd:- Afternoon
• Saturday 24th:- Live music from Black Eyed Peaz Tribute Evening (good availability)
• Friday 30th:- Afternoon

Michael Jackson tribute - He's not bad, he's actually really really good! Showing us he is no Smooth Criminal is a Michael Jackson tribute. With all of the classic hits, and with some surprise dance moves, this night is a night for lovers of classic pop tracks!

Black Eyed Peaz Tribute - This superb band will perform an amazing show after racing. The performance will consist of all the biggest hits. They have performed all over the world and have also at many tribute festivals!

Prices for racing, racecard, a 3 course meal and live music start from just £29.95pp. For more information visit our website or call 01902 390000.

Live Music Update

We are now well into our live music schedule, so we thought we'd give you a quick update with availability over the next few weeks.

Saturday 13th October - Racecourse regulars Re-Take That have sold out the Ringside again, it's the 3rd time in two years that they have managed this great feat! We do still have availability in the Horizons Restaurant, priced at £46.95 per person, including racecourse admission, racecards, a delicious three course choice meal, served with fresh seasonal produce (which also includes tea/coffee) with entrance to the after racing entertainment in the Ringside restaurant to the the performance from Re-Take That! To book simply Click Here.

Saturday 20th October - New to the racecourse in 2012 are Soul'd Out. With their rhythm, wind and brass sections, along with lead vocalists, Soul'd Out are a BIG band with a BIG sound, who have the versatility to adapt and bring the best in Soul and Motown classics to the racecourse. We have good availability in both the Ringside and Horizons restaurants, with a limited number of premier Enclosure with entertainment tickets, so book today as we reckon the band are going to raise the roof off! If you'd like to see more, just click here for photos  - or alternatively click here to purchase tickets.

Saturday 27th October - A-TOM-IC JONES & The Explosive Reload Orchestra are the ultimate live Tom Jones experience, featuring some of the country's finest musician's, led by the very energetic and charismatic A-TOM-IC JONES, who possesses a voice full of power and raw energy! Atomic Jones and The Explosive Reload Orchestra have played the racecourse previously, it's the busiest our security staff have been in a long time holding back the hoards of women! Click here to book.

Saturday 17th November - You've been struck by a smooth criminal, Michael Jackson tribute is in the house! With all of the classic hits, and with some surprise dance moves, this night is a night for lovers of classic pop tracks! Fancy booking ticket to this evening of pop? Book now!

Saturday 24th November - The last of our 2012 live music evenings sees tribute band the Black Eyed Peaz perform at the racecourse. This superb band will perform an amazing show after racing consisting of all the biggest hits! Click here to book tickets!

Live Music Events Calendar

With our first live music event out the way, it's time to start looking at what we have coming up in the next few weeks, and also let you know what availability we have left. 

The Fab4 went down an absolute treat at the weekend, thanks to everyone who came along!

3 members of the Fab4 with John Moon, relaxing before their performance!

This coming Saturday we have a new act performing at the racecourse, Queen II. Anticipation is high for the band, with the Ringside Restaurant and Premier with entertainment tickets already sold out! We do have limited availability in the Horizons restaurant, so call today if you are interested.

Just one week after Queen II rock the Ringside, we also have live music from racecourse regulars One Stop Boogie. Tickets are still available, but the band does sell out every year so book now! If you would like to see what the band get up to, click here. 

If that's not enough to get you on the dance floor, just one week later, we have teenage heart throbs Re-Take That performing. We re-book the lads every year as guests comment about the fantastic show they put on! Again the Ringside is sold out, but we do have Horizons and Premier with entertainment available.

If you would like more information on any of the live music evenings, don't hesitate to call us on 01902 390000.

You may have seen last Friday that racehorse Dvinsky visited the racecourse and broke Sharp Hat's modern-day record for the most runs in Britain, with 218 runs. As reported on the Racing Post website, The 11-year-old has been remarkably consistent throughout his 217 (now 218!) race career. Dvinsky, who had previously won twice at Wolverhampton raced in second for much of the journey before tiring in the straight to finish ninth. The racecourses Managing Director David Roberts said: "We are delighted that Dvinsky came to Wolverhampton for his 218th appearance on Friday and that David Hardaker [owner] and Paul Howling continue to support the all-weather tracks with this record-breaking horse".

Racecourse Panoramic!

Fancy darts at the racecourse?

The Run In Begins....

Now that Ladies Evening has been and gone (and what a great time everyone had), it's now time for us to talk about the next few months. It seems that Christmas promotions get earlier every year, but it makes sense to book early to get the dates you want, and it also gives you ample time to save some extra pennies for a Christmas drink and a new Christmas jumper! So with that in mind we have launched our 2012 Christmas Brochure...

Last year's dates filled up very very quickly so this year we have added an extra couple of dates to cope with demand. If you haven't been to the racecourse previously, Christmas time is a great time to pop along. The nights are cold and dark but with the party atmosphere in the air, and floodlights to brighten up the track, the nights are super fun! All the evenings we put on are suitable for family parties or work nights out, so have a look if you're planning a Christmas get together!

After Ladies Evening, Boxing Day Racing is our biggest event of the year. If you fancy abit of fresh air after all that turkey the day before, why not pop along? We are going all out this year to put on a great day for everyone who comes along! Kids Go Free and adult tickets start from £15.00 per person. If you would like more info, follow the link and have a look at the Christmas Brochure - http://www.wolverhampton-racecourse.co.uk/christmas-2012.html

So that's all of the xmas bits and bobs out of the way. 

In September we have some cracking live music evenings lined up, with The Fab4 taking us on a journey through Beatles Mania on the 22nd September, and a Queen Tribute on 29th September.

Have a great month!

Ladies Evening 2012

A record breaking crowd of more than 3,000 race goers enjoyed a fine summers evening at Wolverhampton Racecourse for the highlight of their racing calendar, Ladies Evening 2012 on September 8th. Quality racing and live entertainment ensured the event, now in its 7th year, lived up to its usual high standard! 

The evening itself, sponsored by Mecca Bingo, Guest Motors and Clean Event was the perfect opportunity for Ladies and Gents to dress up for the evening, with prizes on offer for Best Dressed Lady, Best Hat and Best Shoes. 30 Ladies were selected during the evening by the team of fashion fillies and the finals of the 3 competitions were judged by a panel of fashion Judges, Wolverhampton Celebrity Hairdressers Royston Blythe and Nick Malenko the Fashion Show Company’s Sally Mansell and Promise Dreams patron Steve Bull. The Promise Dreams fundraising team were out in force on the night and raised over £1000 for the charity. 

The hotly contested Best Dressed Lady award had 10 finalists for the judges to choose from. With prizes totalling over £1000 from Guest Motors - Alfa Romeo Wolverhampton, Royston Blythe, Hoar Cross Hall, Mecca Bingo, the Grand Theatre and Virgin Active Wolverhampton, the standard was exceptionally high. Winner by unanimous vote, for her great choice of colours and styling was Debbie Grogan who said “A massive thank you to all the team at Wolverhampton races for a fabulous evening. Horizons Restaurant was awesome as always and you even managed to arrange the gorgeous weather!”. 

The evening was finished off by another rousing set from racecourse regulars Battle of The Divas, who belted out hits from Lady Gaga, Lulu and many more till the early hours. 

Managing Director David Roberts said “The crowd for this year’s Ladies Evening were really revved up for a great night. The standard of the outfits in the competitions was very high and we are delighted that so many people entered into the Ladies Evening spirit. The culmination of hard work from our staff, the fine weather and an amazing crowd gave us a Ladies Evening to remember”.

Ladies Evening update!

• Gates open 3.30pm
• First race 5.30pm
• 8 races
• Last race 9.00pm
• Live outdoor entertainment from Battle of the Divas 9.15pm to 10.45pm - open to all race goers
• Fabulous prizes for Best Dressed Lady, Best Shoes and Best Hat

Ladies Evening 2012

The countdown is on for Ladies Evening 2012. The sun is shining, so lets hope it continues for the rest of the week! We will be starting our week of competitions today, with 2 tickets being given away on twitter and Facebook each day. We also have some fantastic prizes thanks to the guys from Mecca Bingo! All you have to do is follow us on twitter @WolvesRaces, and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WolverhamptonRacecourse. The twitter competitions will run from 12.00pm each day, Facebook will be around 8.00pm each evening!

Best of Luck!!!