Let's talk about... Yorkshire racing - send in your favourite memories from the county's racecourses

Check out David Ord’s brief guide to the Yorkshire racecourses – now we want your feedback. Which ones are your favourite? What are the best days you’ve experienced at them? Check out details below of how to send them across to us at the foot of the article.

BEVERLEY

Doesn’t stand on the banks of the River Bever, as I was once told, but it is in a splendid setting with views of the Minster from its well-appointed grandstand. It’s a stiff course, if you decided to walk it take a flask, compass and crampons. The track stages some cracking action through the year too.

The Hilary Needler and Brian Yeardley Conditions Stakes are rattlingly good two-year-old races that have been pointers towards some of the big juvenile contests of the summer over the years.

The draw proves crucial – you don’t want to be too wide on the round course – and if you’re on the inside you need to jump and run.

Finding winners ain't easy, but is good fun. Ladies’ Night isn’t for the faint-hearted, though, the car park afterwards evokes memories of the glory days of Rome.

CATTERICK

One of the last tracks to have an open air gents toilet which has sadly gone.

It’s all in the name of progress though and this place has been making some of late, two legs of a £3.5m improvements Trixie have landed including a new weighing room, and enhanced parade ring which now incorporates the winners’ enclosure.

They’re impressive – so is the car park which is spacious and caters well for erratic parkers. The track is also very easy to find off the A1.

The draw proves crucial - you don’t want to be too wide on the round course – and if you’re on the inside you need to jump and run.

Finding winners ain't easy – but is good fun. Ladies’ night is busy here too.

DONCASTER

One of the jewels in the Yorkshire racing crown and if you like the place you can have a permanent view of it if you channel your inner Alan Partridge and take up residence in one of the rooms at the Hilton hotel which is now part of the complex.

If you don’t fancy that there are many top days to enjoy there, starting with the Sky Bet Chase in January and taking in the likes of the Unibet Lincoln, William Hill St Leger and Vertem Futurity.

Leger Saturday is the big day – celebrating the world’s oldest Classic in style – but don’t underestimate Ladies' Day here too.

If we treat 2019/2020 as an anomaly then the ground is usually faster at Doncaster than just about any other track in the land. It attracts big trainers and good horses.

The draw is hard to call here on the straight track but the best horse usually finds a way to win. And that’s how it should be.

PONTEFRACT

The most improved racecourse in the region – just ask Buck’s Fizz, Billy Ocean and Belinda Carlisle.

They’re not annual members, but have performed at the track’s music nights in recent years, another event that can evoke memories of wilder times from the distant past.

The racing here is very good, as are facilities. It’s a track that is always striving to progress and is being rightly recognised within the industry.

The town is home to Haribo, while liquorice is another local speciality so tread carefully when snacking between races.

Again be wary of anything draw too high and weak finishers, you need to get home at Ponte. You need to go too.

REDCAR

The only racecourse I know where you drive through a graveyard to get to the car park.

As omens go it’s not an encouraging one but the track is worth a visit. A very fair circuit and ground the trainers like and trust.

The two-year-old races are often well contested and of course the Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy was the original big-money sales race back in the day.

The Zetland Gold Cup is another significant event on the calendar – as is the Sunday of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival.

Have the fish and chips the day before at Ripon and concentrate on the ice cream at Redcar. It’s very good. Well, you are almost by the sea.

RIPON

The Garden Racecourse and home to magnificent fish and chips, a wonderful parade ring and makes for a cracking summer’s day out.

Its undulations don’t suit every horse, though, be wary of taking short prices here, but there are some big days – as marketing manager Jon Mullin explains: "The two races we’re best known for are, of course, the William Hill Great St Wilfrid and the Listed EBF Ripon Champion Two-Years-Old Trophy, won last year by Dakota Gold and Platinum Star respectively, who both look to be Group class performers.

"A’Ali, a three time Group 2 winning juvenile last term including in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, was the star of the juveniles to visit us in 2019, even though he had to settle for second on his debut behind Spartan Fighter, the weight of my money proving just too much of a burden on that occasion.

"A horse that we always look forward to seeing is the remarkable Pipers Note, an eight time winner at the track he always looks magnificent and really loves his racing. He drew a blank in 2019 but he will hopefully be back in 2020 and it would be magnificent to see him add to his tally. Not all horses take to the track and its undulations but Piper really loves it and the Ripon regulars love him too.

"Of all the horses I saw at Ripon last season one that made a real impression on me was the Tim Easterby-trained Lampang. A winner from a seemingly impossible position on his debut at Carlisle, he then bolted up at our final meeting of 2019 and although he subsequently disappointed in Listed company at York, the soft ground was a plausible reason. He still holds entries in the 2000 Guineas and the Irish 2000 Guineas, which speaks volumes for the regard in which he is held.

"It’s often said that Ripon is a ‘specialist’ track and whilst there is some merit to that, in so far as some horses don’t appreciate the undulations, the track is made a scapegoat more often than it should be when a horse runs below expectations (but then I would say that!).

"The straight, at 5f in length, is one of the longest in the country and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the track is more suitable to horses who race prominently rather than those who come from off the pace, particularly in races of 1m-plus."

THIRSK

It’s Thirsky work in the summer so thank goodness for the Real Ale Bar – one of the first to spring up on our racecourses. It used to be Black Sheep and is now Theakston's. It’s very welcome after a winner, or an agonising loser. Let’s face it - it’s just very welcome.

Less so for some is the dress code requiring gentlemen to wear a jacket and tie for the top enclosure. Many fall foul but fear not – ties can be borrowed from the racecourse for a deposit meaning there’s often the glorious sight of young, trendy, sock-less, racecogoers, resplendent in their pastel shade Hugo Boss suits and a Paisley Kipper tie favoured by Geography teachers throughout the 1980s.

Another track where the draw is crucial but their maidens and novice races often attract runners from the big southern yards – perhaps enticed by the prospect of lunch at the magnificent Crab And Lobster beforehand.

The racecourse is walkable from the station and there are some cracking pubs en-route for the bearded aficionados among you.

WETHERBY

The A1 track.

Alverton, Badsworth Boy, Bregawn, Burrough Hill Lad, Brownes Gazette, Forgive ‘n Forget, One Man, Pearlyman, Righthand Man, Rathgorman, See More Business, Silver Buck, Waterloo Boy, Viking Flagship and Wayward Lad.

I saw you all here.

It was once the hotbed for jumps racing in the north, when the region had battalions that were the envy of the land and Gold Cup winners and Champion Chase heroes would be targeted at the big days.

There was a brief lull when work on the aforementioned A1 led to some track issues but the place is back on an upward curve.

It stages Flat racing too. Which is ticking over nicely.

The A1 Bar and John Smith’s Smooth played a big part in my late teens, early 20s racing at Wetherby and it’s always best to have someone getting them when the race is actually off so try to go as part of a group.

YORK

What is there to say? Magnificent place this.

Cheapest champagne on a British racecourse, enough lager outlets for even John Smith’s Cup Day and real ale galore too.

And then there’s the racing. Wonderful stuff from the rich promise of the spring and the Dante meeting through to the October finale. We take in the Welcome To Yorkshire Ebor Festival along the way and the magnificence of the Juddmonte International, Darley Yorkshire Oaks, Coolmore Nuthorpe and £1million Sky Bet Ebor.

There’s the chance to dance your heart away at the Music Nights, then meet the likes of Peppa Pig and the stars of Paw Patrol at Family Raceday.

Restaurants with prices and menus to suit any budget are scattered throughout every enclosure – and the facilities in the middle of the track received a £1million face-lift recently and make for a great picnic spot and relaxed day out should the mood take.

The mood should always take you to York – and once the action on the track is over – one of the great cities in Britain is a 15 minutes walk away.

Send us your views

Send your favourite memories from York and other contributions to racingfeedback@sportinglife.com and if you’ve any ideas for more topics you want covering over the coming days and weeks please let us know.

Feedback from readers

David Ord - many thanks to Lee Thurston for this - and genuine thanks. I was completely wrong re Beverley as I was convinced it was the Minster (as I was the claim the River Bever ran close by). I must admit my route from the station around Thirsk does involve significant detours for a quality liquid refreshment.

LT: Just a quick one to say I really enjoyed your article on the Yorkshire courses, thank you. I tend to concentrate on this one area for my bets so it was great to see what others think of the racing in our county!

However, I do hate to be that sort of person but as a beer and history fan, I felt I couldn't let two minor inaccuracies pass without mentioning! ...

For Thirsk you mention; "The racecourse is walkable from the station and there are some cracking pubs en-route" and the first part is true, however from the railway station to the course, you only pass one pub - the old red house, which is next to the station! And that's it unless you go past the track and into Thirsk itself.

Also you mention, that Beverley has "views of the Minster from its well-appointed grandstand" which is true if you have a pair of super powered binoculars, but the ecclesiastical building most people view when looking down the home straight is the church of St Mary's. A very impressive building, but sadly not the even more impressive Minster.

Again, sorry for the email but I couldn't help myself

Dawn Taylor: My 1st visit to York was wonderful for the Dante. The weather was lovely, food excellent. My partner got of to a flyer with a win in the 1st. My bets were going miserably bad until I backed a horse called roaring lion. It obliged and I fell in love with the horse. Great day

Tim Williams: No mention of Kiplingcotes!! I went last year for the 500th anniversary. Grass verge racing, a man with a camera up a tree by the winning post, the winning horse called 'Frog'. I only saw the last 50 yards of the race, but I would not have missed it for the world.

Dave Youngman: BY far my favourite Racecourse in Yorkshire has to be YORK, I love the Juddmonte International Stakes and was there to see ULYSSES win it in 2017 for trainer Sir Michael Stoute, the horse was so gentle in his stable whenever I was at Freemason Lodge here in Newmarket looking at him. I have this lovely photo of myself with him and am happy sharing it with you all, he is now doing very well as a Stallion at Cheveley Park Stud on the outskirts of Newmarket.

Our Friends in the North

• Richard Fahey Stable Tour
• Mark Johnston Stable Tour
• David O’Meara Stable Tour
• Kevin Ryan Stable Tour
• Karl Burke Stable Tour
• Tim Easterby Stable Tour
• Michael Dods Stable Tour
• Jedd O'Keeffe Stable Tour
• John Quinn Stable Tour
• Brian Ellison Stable Tour
• Ben Haslam Stable Tour
• Phil Makin Stable Tour