York Racecourse

Racecourse number: 2

First visited: 1985

Number of visits:7

York's Benson and Hedges Gold Cup Day meeting in 1985 is one of my favourite days racing. My first dozen or so trips to the races were to my local track Haydock Park and so this first visit away from Haydock would open my eyes to other horse racing possibilities. As good as Haydock was, York was simply better. In terms of scale, racing quality, atmosphere and viewing options this was something very exciting indeed. My family watched most races that day in a seated area way up in the stands overlooking the final furlong. What a view. Bourbon Boy was a winner I remember backing for Michael Stoute, Walter Swinburn and Sheikh Mohammed. On this particular occasion I noted the results in the racecard along with the winning distances. Not something I continued with but certainly helpful in terms of this record. The full colour cover of the racecard was as distinctive as the meeting itself, and at 40p a bargain.

The big race of the day which is now the Juddmonte International featured many racing superstars of the time including many future breeding superstars. Top of the bill and favourite for the race was Oh So Sharp who had already won the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks. She would go on to complete a rare triple crown by winning the St Leger. Other leading contenders were Commanche Run, Triptych, Bob Back and Palace Music. The later had previously beaten Pebbles in the Champion Stakes. I was very conscious of the importance of this race. I backed Oh So Sharp but she could only manage second. Racing legend Lester Piggott riding Commanche Run got first run on the favourite partnered by Steve Cauthan and won by three quarters of a length. These equine stars of the 1980's were bred from the equine stars of the 1970's. Sires of the 1985 renewal runners included Roberto, The Minstrel, Alleged, Bustino, Troy and Kris. What a race that would have been. This race was also to provide me with a link to Dancing Brave's Arc De Triomphe one year later in which Triptych competed. To me the 1986 Arc is the best race ever run and was won in thrilling fashion by a fantastic horse.

Perhaps one reason I enjoyed the day so much was some betting success which included a successful dual forecast on the final sprint race. I used to do the old dual forecast quite a bit in those days and with optimism I choose Dorking Lad and Mary Maguire in race seven. The payout was around £30 which was a decent amount for a teenager in the 1980s. The real thrill though was watching it take shape in a perfect way from this unfamiliar yet wonderful viewpoint. This day definitely acted as a major catalyst for my racing hobby to extend nationwide. I was fourteen years old and York had made a big impression on me. By the time I left school two years later my racecourses visited total would have increased to ten. My journey to all the British racecourses had begun in earnest.

Exeter Racecourse

Racecourse number: 7

First visited: 1986

Number of visits: 1

My summer holiday in 1986 was at Pontin's Torbay holiday camp in Devon. Simply fantastic. Even better, this gave me a prime opportunity to visit, with my Mum and Dad, one of the local racecourses. Like trips to the races, holidays to Butlins and Pontins were a big feature of my childhood. At some of the bigger camps there were on site bookmakers. At Torbay the arrangements for placing a bet were simply fantastic in there outdatedness. You would write out your bet at reception and hand over your stake prior to 11am. The camps collective bets would be taken and placed at a local bookies and winnings picked up for collection the following day. There was racing on TV at York that week and I remember my Dad collecting his winnings following a success from an old favourite, Triptych. This was in the days when newspapers and teletext were the main source of racing news and information. In fact, without teletext whilst on holiday, we nearly made the mistake of going to Exeter races a day early. We were all primed to go when I realised via the day’s newspaper that the meeting was the following day!

Exeter would be my seventh racecourse. Significantly, the notion of going to the races whilst on holiday would be the key to me attending so many courses throughout my life. This day was thus a catalyst for some brilliant trips to the races throughout Great Britain. Exeter is one of the largest racecourses in terms of its circuit distance so I was impressed when my Dad, having got us there quite early decided to walk the course. I must have decided against it for some reason. Certainly it was a warm day and the ground pretty firm. Past the winning post, I recall the massive loop the runners had to take before entering the back straight. A traditional looking course but a little more pear shaped than oval. Horses I remember from this day are Razzle Dazzle Boy, Britannicus and Melendez though in truth I cannot recall the winners, any betting successes, failures or otherwise. I have no help either from trusty racing online databases, as they do not go back quite that far. 

On examining the racecard, which I have kept all these years, I found a number of significant jockeys and trainers who were there that day of great interest. Riding in race one for example was future champion trainer Paul Nicholls. Training in race four was ex-champion jockey John Francome. Others with rides that day were Brendan Powell, Richard Dunwoody and Simon Sherwood. Martin Pipe had just the one runner that day in the last race. Within a few years, he would totally dominate such southern jumps meetings with runners in every race and most of them as favourite. Possibly of most interest in the racecard to me was that the commentator was Mr. L McKenzie. I am assuming this was a very early call from Lee McKenzie who I have seen at the races as an announcer or commentator many times over the years. Indeed nearly thirty five years later so many of these names or their children remain a major feature of today's horse racing circuit. Like me, they and their families keep coming back for more.