Horse Racing

Geoff Lewis – the only Welsh jockey ever to ride a winner of the Derby – has picked up another trophy to add to his collection. The 88-year-old – winner of the 1971 Derby on Mill Reef – was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Welsh Horse Racing Awards in Cardiff on Thursday night.

Chepstow Racecourse hosts its annual Military Raceday at the track on Wednesday as part of an action-packed eight-race Jumps card. Racing gets underway at 12.20pm with a conditional jockeys’ handicap chase before the card comes to a close at 4.05pm as ten runners take on the class five bumper contest.

Welsh jump jockey Alan Johns has won a top award after becoming the new face and voice of horse racing. Johns, who rides for the Tim Vaughan stable in the Vale of Glamorgan, has won the Jockeys Education and Training Scheme (JETS) Progress Award in recognition of his burgeoning media career.

Wales’ leading jump jockeys will put their pride on the line this weekend as they help start the Welsh jump season with a charity ride that already appears an institution. The likes of Sean and James Bowen, Connor Brace, Ben Jones, Jack Tudor and Alan Johns will feature in the Welsh Jump Jockeys Derby – the first race of the Unibet Jump Season Opener at Chepstow on Friday October 11.

Welsh athletes hope the Prime Minister will heed their emphatic call to ensure disabled children have equal access to sport. As the triumphant Great Britain team returned home from Paris with 124 medals – 49 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze, including 22 medals for Welsh athletes – ParalympicsGB posted an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer, urging him to “act now” and establish a “clear plan from across Government with concrete steps for change”.

Racing continues at Chepstow this week with a competitive seven-race card on offer for punters heading to the track on Tuesday afternoon. The meeting gets underway at 2pm with a class four apprentice handicap before rounding off at 5.30pm as six runners take on the seven furlong handicap to bring the card to a close.

The Flat racing continues at Ffos Las on Thursday with day one of the Summer Flat Festival at Ffos Las. Racing on the opening day of action gets underway at 2.25pm with a maiden stakes in class five before coming to a close at 5pm with a two-mile handicap in class six.

The action continues at Chepstow Racecourse this week with a competitive six-race card on the Flat on Thursday afternoon at the track. Racing gets underway at 2.10 with a seven-runner handicap for apprentice jockeys in class six before the meeting comes to a close with an eight-runner handicap in class six at 5.05 to bring the curtain down on the card.

The 2024 edition of the Racing League arrives in Chepstow on Thursday with a high-quality seven-race card on offer for punters heading to the track. The Racing League sees seven teams representing different parts of the country taking each other on across 42 races at six meetings with over £2m in prize money on offer, with Chepstow’s card marking the third fixture of the season and the midway point of the competition – with all kids aged under 17 able to get in for free when accompanied with a paying adult to Chepstow on Thursday.

The Flat season continues apace at Ffos Las this week with a six-race card on offer on Tuesday evening. Racing gets underway at 6.05pm with an 11-runner handicap in class six before rounding off at 8.40pm with another class six handicap, this time over the one mile and six furlong distance.

The Flat racing season continues at Ffos Las on Wednesday, with six races on the card for the midweek evening meeting. The racing gets underway at 6:30pm, with the racing running all the way until 9pm in the evening sunshine. The going is likely to be good to firm, with the ground beginning to dry up as the weather improves following what has been a wet July so far.

Chepstow hosts its latest meeting on Friday evening – Ladies with a competitive seven-race offering for punters heading to the track. Racing gets underway at 5.15 with a class four handicap before rounding off at 8.45 as nine runners take on the class six handicap to bring proceedings to a close.

Missed out on a ticket to the Glastonbury Festival this year? Fear not, as you can head to Glast-On-Dee instead on Friday to mix live music with a seven-race Jumps card at the track. That’s right. Bangor-On-Dee Racecourse hosts its latest card on Friday afternoon and evening, with live music before and after the card off the track.

Hot on the heels of Ffos Las’s 15th birthday celebration on Sunday, the Welsh track hosts a midweek six-race evening card to keep the action rolling in. Racing gets underway in the Burry Port RNLI 200 Year Celebration Racenight at 6.20pm with the 1m2f handicap in class six before rounding off at 8.50 as seven runners take on the class five handicap.

Jumps racing often takes a back seat at this time of year as the Flat season kicks into gear but there is still some action on offer for those fans of the obstacles – including at Ffos Las this week.  The Welsh track hosts a seven-race Jumps card on Wednesday afternoon, kicking off at 2pm with a 16-runner maiden hurdle before rounding off at 5.05 as 12 runners tackle the 2m7f handicap chase.  The opener (2.00) is a large field maiden hurdle and of the 16 runners set to head to post, the Olly Murphy-trained Dexterity sets the standard. 

Chepstow Racecourse’s first Flat meeting of 2024 arrives at the track on Tuesday evening, with a competitive seven-race card on offer for punters to get the new campaign at the track underway. The meeting kicks off with a nine-runner Division 1 handicap at 5.40 and rounds off three hours later at 8.40 with a ten-runner handicap in class six.

Welsh jockey David Probert will be aiming to continue his encouraging start to the flat racing season when the opening flat meeting takes place at Chepstow Racecourse on Tuesday night. Probert has already passed 50 winners for 2024, the last of which came at Ascot last Friday when he rode Arctic Thunder to victory for trainer Andrew Balding.

IF Kitty’s Light wins the Grand National on Saturday, then the biggest roars outside of Aintree will be heard at Chepstow Racecourse. The popular Christian Williams would be the toast of Chepstow if he manages to become the first Welsh trainer in 119 years to win the big race.

Welsh jockey Sean Bowen is determined to take his quest to become champion jockey right to the final furlong – and hopes Ffos Las Racecourse plays a part. Bowen – who hails from Pembrokeshire – would love nothing better than to bag a few winners at Ffos Las on Easter Sunday, March 31.

Ben Jones described his winner as “a dream come true” as he and Lorcan Williams celebrated two victories for Welsh jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival. Jones’ win came as owner Harry Redknapp enjoyed a first festival winner with Shakem Up’Arry on day three on Thursday.