would you pay to go to Catterick on Monday.

Desperate fare on offer but £5 course enclosure is a bout as much as you'd part with to turn up after the first race maybe.

Ground firming up not helping any.

Awful days racing but I'd rather be there than at Plumptons abysmal card.

its free guest day for members mates  too at catterick tom....must admit, only been once when gwr training and a young tony tobbin riding . not a great day out .

Its a lovely course is Catterick, decent facilities and a friendly atmosphere.

prefer jumps at catterick over flat which is too draw dependent...good fish and chip shop in town..highlight of a catterick (and sedgefield) visit was a few pints in Hogans and a hotshot parmo for the train back to Edinburgh but as you've said Hogans is no longer, it will take more than a piss poor card to get us down that way again

Absolutely tiger the racecourse deserves better very friendly place they really do make the effort,free bus from Richmond each fixture decent food good viewing ,hopefully jcr or ac will never take catterick under there false wings.

But regarding the original question by Ronnie unfortunately the answer is no

I quite liked the place the only time I visited which had been a flat meeting.

Agree Jimnast,I like Catterick and have been a few times this winter and was going today but the card has obviously stopped me. The cards in normal circumstances are ok.

would you pay to go to Catterick on Monday. No you would have to pay me, todays racing looks rubbish, at least we have Cheltenham to look forward too lads

I had also planned to go for a day out today ribero but that card doesn’t justify the horrendous m62 late afternoon.

Indeed! must admit another plus for me is a leisurely 35 minute drive up the A1.

At the weekend, I was thinking I might go to Wetherby on Wednesday, quiet midweek, some fresh air, a chat with JustNorm, and not far away for me.
Looked on their website for admission prices. £16 for tatts less a fiver for OAP, but you have to book online before 9.30am, pay a 50p transaction charge and presumably it’s some sort of ETicket which my brain doesn’t compute.
Further investigation says pay at turnstile on the day is £19, no OAP discount and card only.
“Please note that we will no longer be offering on the day concessions in our 2022-2023 season”

I would have thought, in general, the biggest group of casual, lets have a day out, midweek customers would be OAP’s , but the courses just don’t seem to want to make it easy or encourage them.

Not the best of cards today but I really like Catterick for a days racing.

Rigsby

It beggars belief what many racecourses are doing.

When the tv rights run out they will change there approach to the paying customers

cracking little track and i will be going on Wed 8th March as i set off on my around the courses in 11 days journey

Must admit though that the track deserves better turn outs for their efforts and todays card is very poor

Smirnoff

Is that all the tracks in 11 days ?

Cant ever remember JP having runners at Catterick, three today, two biggies and a stable switcher trading around the 4.2 mark.

Jimnast,talking of Wetherby,the hotel is now full of migrants.

Ffs ribero for two consecutive years the hotel I’ve booked for Cheltenham has been taken over by migrants so I have had to make different plans ,now wetherby and they don’t even have the decency to let a loyalty card holder know.

If Liverpool over the weekend there as a mini riot outside one of these hotels by the locals sick f what’s going on .

People selling their hotels up and down the country,they see which way the wind is blowing,happy days ahead.

So to sum up when digital currency comes in many racecourses will close and many more hotels will be full of migrants ?

It's a joke Jimnast,200 of them apparently,meant to tell you before as we knew a while ago as one of the wife's friends works at the local surgery and they were notified well in advance to get everything in order for them ffs.

It’s madness what’s going on ribero ,I’ve just accidentally drove on the m6 toll road it cost me £7.50 and you can’t pay cash as it happens Debbie was with me who had a card with her ,what on Earth happens if you don’t have a card do you reverse back up the motorway?

Be down the bottom of the Yorkshire tracks for me in terms of worth a visit:

Ripon (NAP)
Thirsk (NB)
York
Wetherby
Pontefract
Catterick
Redcar
Beverley
Donc (shthole)

Blimey swaddle you have Beverley low there ,agree with the bottom

Blimey swaddle you have Beverley low there ,agree with the bottom

Its head on.

I'd consider myself a normal guy but the Hull lot are something else, tedious , although in their defence they are only tryna have a good time.

Ironically I cant say much after nominating the top 2 but the quality of racing is also poor.

Whilst I think Beverley is a really nice course theres nowhere I find winners harder to back

I'm a member of what used to be known as the Racegoers Club
On the Wetherby Concessions page it says "Instructions for Wetherby - On the day walk up only, 1 ticket available per member, per raceday, please bring your Membership Card to obtain the discount and entry to the Premier or Paddock Enclosure. Please note Card payment only at entrance."

I rang the racecourse and Danielle says that concessions ARE available on the day for OAPs .

Feb 13, 2023 -- 3:26PM, jimnast wrote:

Whilst I think Beverley is a really nice course theres nowhere I find winners harder to back

Me too well said.

Without being rude in life why do OAPS need so many concessions?

You dont take anything with you as far as I'M aware

Jimnast,Beverley at the bottom here too,just don't like the racing there I guess and like you couldn't back a winner although very rarely try but plenty of fancied horses win there,went to Redcar last season for the first time for a while and much much preferred Catterick.
Redcar could do with a facelift but doubt it will get one.

Ponte and Doncaster by a distance would be my two worst I know we’ve said it before but the old Doncaster was great.

Although Leicester as a track can be a bit soulless, they do make an effort when it comes to free / cheap admission.

Racing TV subscribers only have to produce their Racing TV metal badge to get in for free on many days this year, and this concession also allows you entrance to the members area (OK its a tent) where there is free tea, coffee and biscuits. Also, free racecard.

Furthermore, they were the first track to offer concessions to the Racegoers Club for 2023.

Pity its the only track I've ever seen where they have Heavy (Hurdles course crossover) and Good to Firm (chase course) on same day!!!

Obviously I see Doncaster from a different point of view in the summer and the racing is pretty competitive but must admit while trying to go racing a bit more this winter hence the trips to Catterick going for a day to Doncaster holds very little attraction.

redcar has to be bottom of the Yorkshire league...wetherby (unfortunately) dropping fast..hopefully Thirsk drop their dress code if they haven't already but the executive there were so far up themselves

Jimnast we had the same problem recently going to Utt from Birmingham luckily we had a card between the 4 of us or we were lost , no escape once you go into the Toll...Ripon is one of the most over rated track in the U.K....

ItsMeSwaddle 13 Feb 23 16:08 
Without being rude in life why do OAPS need so many concessions?

You dont take anything with you as far as I'M aware





With the ridiculous cost of going Racing in this country everyone could do with a so called "concession".

Went to Redcar for the first time last year and I thought it was okay, even though it was nearly a 400 mile round trip.
Ripon is brilliant and would probably be my top as well.

Exactly, if there was any group that needed it less for me this would be it, but maybe I am bias.

To go back to the original posters point it cant be cost effective to try something otherwise surely on days like this where the racing was blatently going to be dire from approx 3-4 days ago...you'd think they might try something.

£15-20 entry, instant coffee, OAPS food or overpriced burgers I'm ok thanks.

ItsMeSwaddle 13 Feb 23 17:56 
Exactly, if there was any group that needed it less for me this would be it, but maybe I am bias.





I don't have a bias with regards to who should be ripped off and would like to see a fair price for all, similar perhaps to what is charged in most other countries.

Well said to be fair, everyones turg anorl that.

Redcar is my local course, ive turned down free tickets no end of times. Much prefer Ripon and Thirsk.

Evening jimnast - just come back to thread - aye my itinerary consists of following

8th Catterick then travelling onto Donny dogs night time - stopping in Thorne - will probs hav to miss either last 2 or deffo the last to make it in time
9th Travelling onto Southwell  for races and then travelling onto Leicester after racing stopping over for 2 nights
10th Im off to Leicester where its free entry courtesy of RTV as mentioned earlier in thread
11th Back on my travels to Wolves races afternoon then Monmore dogs Sat night
12th Warwick
13th Stratford
14th -17th - all 4 days of festival - cheap seats on the Thursday in Best Mate enclosure otha 3 days in Tatts but fairly confident we will end up in club enclosure cos if last years experience is anything to go by then it will be easy enough to get in there (going wiv halcyon days and travelling in each day from Worcester where hal found a gud place to stop last year at a reasonable price )
Then i will make my way back up North but not b4 taking in Uttoxeter on the Saturday  so aye ive got a busy time ahead of me

Got to agree re Ripon - a cracking track whereas whilst i do enjoy racing days out to York i just find it a bit too big for my liking

Loved Redcar a much underrated track and it surprised me viewing wise a super track to watch racing...Ripon and peoples love of it amazes me , a track where the first 3 furlongs are blocked out , is simply not good enough .

Fascinating that earlier in the thread people struggle to win at Beverley. They are not alone, as a lot of the people I see around the tracks I go to also find it hard there.

But, I'm a member there and have been for 10 years. In 8 of those 10 years, Beverley has been my most profitable track. I have looked long and hard at my extensive records and think it may be because I have become used to picking the right type of races at Beverly to bet upon, rather than the right type of horse.

Good thread this but it started off with a view on Catterick. Well, having been to a good number of flat meetings there the past 10 years I finally did a jumps card on North Yorkshire Grand National Day back in January.

Now, no track appeals when you lose - which I did that day - but I have never had such an uncomfortable viewing day as that bl**dy afternoon. The sun was low in the sky (as might be expected in winter) and was opposite the stands all afternoon. Very hard not to be blinded by it and there was also a very strong wind that made standing at the back of the stands hard work. I must admit the day had a better 'feel' to it that some flat days there when, on an overcast afternoon with a small crowd, it has felt dire, but my jumping experience there will not be repeated anytime soon!

Lastly, sorry but what a mean-minded view about OAP's getting concessions. Yes, a fair price should be charged for all but why complain because someone is getting something you are not? Good luck to anyone getting any concession, that's what I say!

Why should OAP’s deserve to get any concession please?

I’ve already stated you don’t take anything with you - that is my reasoning.

To be honest without tarring everyone with the same brush but proper makes me laugh when you are stood in the stand with a rip off £7 burger and you see some old boy that has smuggled his own squashed Cheese and Onion sarnie in, sorry to laugh if the theoretical bloke in question couldn’t afford anything more, but I can gtee most of the time just a generational thing that same old people are tighter!!


Lastly good to see you are winning at Beverley!!!
Is just some people that never seem to lose, I aspire to be like that, happy days!

Basically look at it this way.

I am young I wish to have the Sport in 20 years like, said OAP likely long goneski…

I’ll be off racing regardless at full price…don’t you worry about me…

Do I want to Sport to die because Mr OAP paid a 10er rather than a score that everyone else paid? No not really.

Good morning Smirnoff

That’s a proper trip ,never been to either of them dog tracks how many paying public would you expect to turn up ?

Leicester is a track I’ve not been to for quite a while must make the effort this year I like the place,been to Stratford for that fixture and to be honest always found it a distraction for what coming up over the next 4 days,good news for midlands national day is stoke city are at home at 3 o’clock which makes the afternoon racing a more enjoyable experience.

Worcester What a great place to stay for Cheltenham and if you and halcyon like good beer then I have a nap for you it’s called the dragon inn just on the way out of the town centre past foregate station on the left hand side,

Have a great trip and good luck

Swaddle, you need to understand that many pensioners are struggling to make ends meet never mind going the races. They won't be taking "anything with them" other than their memories.

Well I'm an oap and love Ponte. Great viewing, lovely staff and management and a grandstand … for £4 entry . Great day out.

Nice new cafe down there Brian’s

And Ponty let's you take your own food in apart from Members.

3 things to reply about.

1/ Swaddle - Yes, some OAP's don't need the concessions - I'm 63 and don't need them, but I still take them. We do seem to have a tradition of concessions in the UK for older people when older people often have the most money. Perhaps that should change? BUT, you will be old one day and then let us see what you think! BTW - I really don't think that concessions for OAP's will make or break racetracks! Their crunch time will come if/when the media rights cash dries up. 

2/ Swaddle again. No, you have that wrong about some people never losing. Those of us who make a profit in the long run (year on year, but not all years) lose plenty of times but because we put in the study and have discipline we win. The other advantage I, and others who make it pay, often have is a big enough bank to withstand the lean periods. No good punting if you have to stop to gather funds every few weeks / months. That was me in the 1980's when I was young.

3/ To all, as for my promotion of Leicester's concessions. Well they may be good at concessions but then look at Thursday's card that has just come through - for once there will be more people there than horses!! Will probably include me, all the same. However dire a card is, there is generally some angle to go at it from.

@Swaddle
My point was the difference between £11 online and £19 at the gate.
For non OAP's it's £3 dearer on the gate.
For why?
I thought the mantra is "come racing", so make it attractive to a casual racegoer and in consequence increase the attendance at an ordinary midweek meeting

@Brians
So is it only £4 entry for OAP's in second ring at Ponty?

Always liked catterick and the home made pie in the cafe was good years ago, wetherby was not bad, redcar was always poor food and depressing but ride on the front to see the sea and ice cream made up for it, ripon not my fav and like someone said cant understand why its popular still has asbestos sheets on stands and its not changed in 30 years,beverley always low grade racing and full of well oiled fans but bars were good, food not, newcastle used to be ok the pitmans derby weekend was good and remember stan smith ? the owner shaking everyones  hand to thank them for coming as they left what a good man he was, sedgfield free day on first day of cheltenham what happened to that, food was ok racing and atmosphere always good, the best for me cartmel 20,000 plus on a bank holiday, music funfair and great in town afterwards but seem to be taking the p.. with admission charges now

Rigsby -as posted above there is a £5 OAP at Wetherby on the gate despite what the website says -you can double check by phoning the course T: 01937 582035

Feb 14, 2023 -- 8:38AM, sparrow wrote:

Swaddle, you need to understand that many pensioners are struggling to make ends meet never mind going the races. They won't be taking "anything with them" other than their memories.

So is everyone I find this view absolutely bizzare. You are going to pass soon so here...have everything a bit cheaper. Think will just agree to disagree.

The Knight well said regarding point 2 and 3.

I cant have point 1 out of principle but its also well explained.

A matter of principle for you then swaddle?  Incredible thing to say about a group of old people getting a concession to go racing. Still it is the so called Sport of Kings and we need to keep it expensive so we can keep out groups we dislike.

I dont think any group of people deserves a concession more than other people.

and if I had to choose one group that did its not older people, it completely goes against the motto of everyones turf?

Excluding kids that should be let in for free...as the main product is gambling which ofc cannot be undertaken.

Why does someone that is 72 that has had EVERY CHANCE to secure their future financially for the past 50 odd years deserve a ticket any cheaper than:

-A spotty 19 year old teenager that nobody will take seriously just purely because of his age so he is flipping burgers for 8 bob an hour?

swaddle = greta funberg..

Well that 19 year old needs to get out and vote just like the Boomer generation did and of course still do.

I'm not even gunna respond to that farcical comment.

Truth hurts does it?

yes,even rico is telling you.