Beverley and its surrounding area

Beverley is a market town located in the east of Yorkshire. The town has a history traced back to when it was first founded around 1400 years ago by St John Of Beverley. Beverley was once one of the largest towns in the land due to it’s prosperity earned from pilgrimages to St John and to it’s thriving wool industry. It’s religious status declined following the reformation.

The town was listed by The Sunday Times as one of the most desirable places to live in Northern England in 2018. It has many markets and food festivals. It’s major attraction is Beverley Minster.

The town is quite close to Hull and the rest of Yorkshire and the North East of England is also easily accessible.

If you’re in the area and have time, there are a few things worth doing:

Beverley Minster – https://beverleyminster.org.uk/

St. Mary’s Church – https://stmarysbeverley.org/

Beverley Westwood

As mentioned, there is a wealth of treasures to explore throughout Yorkshire.

The Racecourse

Beverley racecourse hosts only flat racing.

Beverley is a right-handed oval course of about 1m3f in length.  There is a downhill turn into the straight which is then 2.5f and uphill. Races over 5f and 2m start from an extension to the home straight. The 5f course is uphill from start to finish and takes some getting, particularly in soft ground. The course suits galloping types, particularly those racing prominently.

Over 5f, there is a massive draw bias towards those drawn low. There is due partly to being on the inside of a dog-legged turn but also that the undulations of the course mean that those drawn high start ever so slightly further down the hill. There is also a massive bias towards low drawn runners in races over the extended 7f.

Late summer sees the running of The Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes, a listed race over 5f and is the feature of Beverleys racing calendar.

Clerk of the course: Sally Iggulden

Course telephone number: 01482 867488

Getting Here

Beverley is just under 209 miles from Central London, 133 miles from Birmingham, 55 miles from Leeds, 94 miles from Manchester, 234 miles from Edinburgh and 250 miles from Cardiff.

The nearest motorway junction is J37 of the M62. The course itself is on the A1079 York to Hull road.

The course post code is HU17 8QZ.

Course parking is free.

The nearest railway station is Beverley Station.

Racecourse facilities

Course website: http://beverley-racecourse.co.uk/

Disabled access: http://beverley-racecourse.co.uk/racing/accessibility

There are three enclosures at Beverley, The Premier Enclosure, Grandstand and Paddock and The Course Enclosure. Entrance to The Premier Enclosure requires a dress code of smart casual.

I liked the stands here as there is a lot of seating in them which isn’t something you see too much of at racecourses.

It was very difficult to move around due to the large crowd, as it would be anywhere so difficult to assess the various bars and eateries. In any event, the Premier Enclosure was sold out so I couldn’t go in there anyway. There was a tented area across the course with plenty of food and drink going on. But the highlight for me was The Rapid Lad Bar which served Pie, Chips, Mushy Peas and Gravy for little more than £6. Superb.

I need to come back again when it’s less busy and have a proper look. One thing I can say for certain though is that the view from the stands over the racecourse is very pretty.

The staff here were all excellent and I would give particular credit given how busy it was.

My Day Today

This is my first visit to Beverley Racecourse and I again inadvertently managed to pick Ladies Day. It was absolutely rammed with people and I didn’t last long and was gone after the fourth race. I would love to come here again though when it’s much quieter as it’s a pretty course and all the facilities here seem quite good. The premier enclosure was sold out so I had to go into the grandstand and paddock enclosure, not that I mind of course, it’s just that I can’t have a proper look around.

Having studied the card at length the previous evening, I went to Beverley with the likelihood of backing two horses, ‘Kingson’ in the second and ‘Jacbequick’ in the third.

The second race was a 2yo Novice Stakes over 7 1/2 furlongs. ‘Kingson’ had run and finished well in 2nd behind a previous winner over 7f at Redcar on debut. I felt this extended 7f should have suited him well. But although I couldn’t see anything else jumping out of the race at me, there were enough imponderables, including a Mark Johnston newcomer for me to decide that 6/4 was too short for his chance. In the end he ran well enough and was never nearer than at the line and I saved a few quid.

‘Jacbequick’ ran in the third race, a claiming stakes for 3yo+ over the extended 7f again. He had returned to winning form a couple of weeks ago at Redcar over 10f and on ground a touch softer than he usually prefers. Although todays trip was well over 2f shorter today, he has won over it in the past. In addition, his nearest market rival had yet to win in 15 starts and while that doesn’t rule him out totally, I am usually more than happy to oppose such records. ‘Jacbequick’ raced just behind the leader on the rail for the first part of the race until his jockey sent him on at halfway. He went clear just over 1f out and never looked like being caught. Happy!

Long drive back to Herefordshire after racing, fully four hours. Back in Yorkshire again next week for Ebor meeting on Wednesday or Thursday.