Worcester and the surrounding area

The City of Worcester sits by the River Severn in the county of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is a cathedral and university city. The city is famous as the site of the final battle of the English Civil War. It is also famous as the home of Royal Worcester Porcelain and of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. Until the early nineteenth century, Worcester was the centre of glove making in the UK but little remains of that now due to much cheaper imports. The city is steeped in history and there is much worth visiting in Worcester and nearby.

http://www.visitworcestershire.org/worcester/

Worcester Cathedral – http://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/

Gheluvelt Park – https://www.worcester.gov.uk/gheluvelt-park

Museum of Royal Worcester – http://www.museumofroyalworcester.org/

The Commandery – http://www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk/

The Guildhall – http://www.worcesterguildhall.co.uk/

Tudor House Museum – https://www.tudorhouse.org.uk/

The Racecourse

Worcester hosts only NH racing.

Worcester racecourse is a left handed track of 1m5f, oval in shape and very easy bends. The run in from the last is about a furlong and a half. The fences and hurdles are portable and aren’t difficult to jump.

Clerk of the course is currently Elizabeth O’Flaherty

Course telephone number: 01905 25364

Getting Here

Worcester is about 130 miles from Central London, 30 miles from Birmingham, 62 miles from Bristol and 110 miles from Manchester. The town sits quite close to the M5 Junction 7. The racecourse is situated just off A449 Kidderminster Road. The post code is WR1 3EJ.

Parking is free.

Worcester Foregate Street Station is about 10-12 minutes walk away and has services to and from London Paddington and Birmingham among many others.

Racecourse facilities

Course website: https://www.worcester-racecourse.co.uk/

Disabled access: https://www.worcester-racecourse.co.uk/plan-your-visit/venue-accessibility/

There are two enclosures here, The County Enclosure and The Centre Course Enclosure.

The Centre Course Enclosure is perfect for families and picnics etc. and you are allowed to bring in your own food. There is a bar available for drinks. Entry is usually £10. There is no strict dress code. There is no access to the parade ring or winners enclosure.

The County Enclosure has a grandstand with a good view of the course. There are plenty of food and drinks opportunities, including two restaurants, The Severn Restaurant and The Croft Suite. The course encourage smart casual dress in the restaurants but are otherwise quite relaxed.

My Day Today

This is my first visit to Worcester despite living so close. It was very easy to do by train and I don’t like driving in Worcester anyway. There was a reasonable size and friendly crowd here. The staff were nice and the whole experience encourages me to return, maybe even buy an annual membership for next year!

In the first race, a handicap chase, I had a long look at ‘Fit For Fifty’ on the way down eventually ruling him out as he had yet to win under rules in 13 starts though did seem to be improving and had the reliable Brian Hughes on his back. However, doubt should always mean no bet in my mind and so I didn’t. He won easily enough!

I took no real interest in either the second or third races, preferring the cider bar instead. Though I did enjoy watching them remove the portable fences and replace them with hurdles after the second race. I’ve never seen that before. There was quite a gamble on ‘Smiling Jessica’ trained by Gavin Cromwell in Ireland, in the second. Opened 9/4 on course but had been bigger earlier in the day. Led coming to the last she had no answer to a forceful ride on the winner from Sean Bowen.

The fourth and fifth races were both divisions of the same novice hurdle. It was easy to fancy both winners each returned at 1/3F and 2/7F. Far too skinny for my money, especially when there are obstacles to be jumped.

My only bet today came in the sixth race, also a novice hurdle. The horse in question was ‘The Last But One’ trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies. He seemed to me to have been improving over fences, including a decent 2nd here last time and if that improvement were translated to hurdles also, then should win today. I backed at 6/5 online early. My friend @genuinetriers on Twitter was also very keen and being an opinion I value, I had a bit more, also at 6/5. The horse was bet down to 8/13F at the off and despite a slight mistake 3 out, never looked anything other the winner, the final winning margin being 13 lengths.

That was me done. I missed the last two and made my way home!