Christmas is a time for magic and surprises and that’s certainly what greeted clients of St Matthew’s Community Centre in Holbeck on Thursday afternoon as they got a visit from a thoroughbred racehorse and a Shetland pony!

This was the second in a series of events organised by the collaboration of Pontefract Racecourse and Racing Together, as part of a Pilot Programme using the power of racing and horses to bring people together and combat loneliness. Members of the Holbeck Together Community Group had visited Pontefract Racecourse for the racing season finale on Thursday 20^th October and the second event saw their own community centre become the focus of the action.

Racehorse trainer Jo Foster and her wonderful team arrived in Holbeck with ten-year-old racehorse Conquredalofeurope and his Shetland Pony companion, as well as with an equicizer (mechanical horse simulator) for those visiting to experience.

Chris Darcy, Community Engagement and Support Worker at Holbeck Together, said: “Today’s racehorse and pony event was truly special. The community were absolutely amazed by the animals, and for many people it was the first time they had ever seen a racehorse or pony up close, especially inside our community centre.

“With a touch of Christmas spirit added in, the event brought real joy to our clients and helped make Christmas feel special for everyone. There were a wonderful feel-good factor and genuine excitement throughout the day. Many of our clients are isolated and vulnerable, and this event helped raise awareness while creating moments of happiness, connection, and inclusion”.

Jonathan Mullin, CEO of Pontefract Racecourse, said: “Inner city Leeds would not be somewhere you would expect to stumble across a racehorse and was wonderful to see the horses bring a smile to the faces of everyone, young and old. Huge thanks to Jo Foster and her fantastic team.

“We look forward to holding further events through 2026 in collaboration with Racing Together and hopefully using the power of racing and the stars of the show, the horses, to create more happy moments and bring people together”.

Another aspect of the programme, the Pontefract Racecourse Soup Kitchen, which has taken place on each Tuesday through December, will also be held on Tuesday 6^th January. All are welcome to join for free soup, tea, coffee biscuits and a chat!

Black Friday Sale: Your First Chance to Secure 2026 Tickets!

For one weekend only, you can enjoy our best prices of the entire year. Whether you’re planning a family day out, a celebration with friends, or simply want to book your favourite fixtures early, this is the perfect time to book.

From 9am on Friday 28th November until 9am on Monday 1st December, you can snap up:

• Grandstand & Paddock Admission – just £10
• Premier Admission – only £15

And the best part?
These prices apply to every single raceday in 2026 – all 17 of them!

Following the Black Friday Sale, General Admission for all 2026 fixtures – including hospitality packages — will go on sale from 9am on Monday 1st December.

As always, we’ll be offering an advance early bird price, giving you even more value when you book ahead.

Next years fixtures can be found here: Race Days – Pontefract Races

Check out next year’s dates …

We are thrilled to be brining you 17 fantastic race fixtures next season.

Tickets for next year will be on sale from 9am on Monday 1st December 2025.

April

Tuesday 7th: Season Opener

Tuesday 21st: OAP Free Day

Wednesday 29th

May

Friday (Eve) 22nd: Music Night

June

Tuesday 2nd June

Monday (Eve) 8th

Sunday 21st: Family Day

Monday 29th

July

Tuesday 7th

Friday (Eve) 17th: Music Night

Sunday 26th: Family Day

August

Wednesday 5th: Ladies Day

Sunday 16th August: Family Day

September

Thursday 17th

Thursday 24th

October

Monday 5th

Monday 19th

LADIES DAY AT PONTEFRACT

The glitz and glamour returned to Pontefract on Wednesday as the course hosted their annual Ladies Day. Stilettoes, hats and fascinators were the order of the as the Ladies of Yorkshire dressed to impress to be in with a chance of winning the coveted Best Dressed Lady competition for an amazing prize of an all-inclusive holiday to the fantastic RIU Dubai resort. It was the 10^th year that RIU Hotels and Resorts had sponsored the event and the 2025 Best Dressed Lady competition winner was Estelle Race.

The opening race on the card was the 1m2f HEB Cleaning and Hygiene Handicap for amateur riders and Star Start followed up his Beverley dead-heat last week with the narrowest of successes under Charli Parker for trainer Ruth Carr. With the handicapper unlikely to overreact to this success he should continue to be competitive.

The Karl Burke-trained Gold Queen Kindly made an impressive winning debut in the Jayne – On Course Lady Bookmaker EBF Maiden Stakes. Despite showing plenty of inexperience the son of Lope De Vega got the hang of things late on, eventually winning with a little in hand under Clifford Lee.

The feature race, the RIU Hotels & Resorts Ladies Day Veteran’s Handicap over 1m, is always a popular event as it’s open to horses aged 6 years old and over and features popular equine stars who the public may have been following for a little while. That is certainly the case for winner Garden Oasis who was notching his fourteenth career success! David Allan had the Tim Easterby-trained ten-year-old at the head of affairs from the off and he bravely fought off all-comers, proving a very popular winner.

The FBS Chartered Accounts Chaplins Club Handicap remembers a real hero of the northern sprinting circuit for his trainer David Chapman and it was David’s granddaughter Ruth Carr who trained the winner of the 2025 renewal. Betweenthesticks was sent off at odds of 33/1 but was sent to the front early by James Sullivan and held on gamely to record a double on the day for Carr.

The most impressive winner of the day came in the 2m1f Napoleons Casino Bradford Handicap with Captain Potter recording his second win at Pontefract this season. The Brian Ellison representative scored by 5-lengths with Ben Robinson in the saddle and he looks set to return to bid for a third success at Pontefract in the coming weeks as doing so would land the £3000 Chairman’s Challenge bonus for his connections.

The 6f Bet With Jayne – Your Local Bookmaker Handicap rounded off a competitive afternoon of racing and the Paul Midgley-trained Novello Lad justified strong support in the moments before the ‘off’. David Nolan delivered his challenge inside the final furlong and fought off the attentions of Sir Garfield in the closing stages.

The next race meeting at Pontefract is the final Family Day of the year. Sunday 17^th August will bring the usual array of family filled entertainment and tickets are selling fast for the event. Racegoers are encouraged to book online in advance to avoid disappointment.

Further information can be found on the website at www.pontefract-races.co.uk

Contact:   Jonathan Mullin (CEO / Clerk of the Course) 01977 781307

Pipalong Stakes and Pontefract Park Silver Sprint Trophy

A glorious summer Tuesday at Pontefract Races attracted a great crowd all enjoying a fantastic afternoon of racing in the sun. The Listed Weatherbys Hamilton Pipalong Stakes over a mile took centre stage on the track and the winner, Royal Dress, was very impressive indeed.

Held up in rear in the early stages, Clifford Lee delivered the James Tate-trained filly to challenge inside the final furlong and she stretched clear of her rivals to score with a bit in hand. Already a Group 3 winner last term, she will likely ply her trade in Group company once more as the season progresses.

Earlier on the card the opening contest, the Lambert Smith Hampton Nursery over six-furlongs, went the way of the Jonathan Portman-trained Sparkling Pink in the hands of Rob Hornby and odds-on favourite Muhaajim took the 1m2f Maiden contest for William Haggas and Tom Marquand. He seems to be improving and could well go on to make his mark in handicap company.

The Pontefract Park Silver Sprint Trophy was a highly competitive six-furlong handicap but Aleezdancer bounced right back to his best, making all the running to win under Kevin Stott. Kevin Ryan’s representative remains well handicapped on his best form and he looks set to tackle some big sprint handicaps through the summer.

Sir Mark Prescott has a great record with his Ponte raiders and Analogical became his fourth winner from his last seven runners, winning the 1m2f Pontefract Squash and Leisure Club handicap. Luke Morris set out to make every post a winning one and narrowly held off the late challenge of Neoma.

A first career success had thus far eluded Walsingham but he finally gained it in the Go Racing Bet With Jayne Handicap. Always prominent under Daniel Tudhope, the David O’Meara-trained five-year-old appeared to win with a little up his sleeve and he could find further success before too long now he has broken his duck.

The ride of the day came in the concluding five-furlong Download the Raceday Ready App Handicap as Joanna Mason overcame a slow start to bring Missmimi from last to first. Tina Jackson’s mare is admirably consistent and a return to Ponte for the 5f handicap on Ladies Day in August looks a logical step.

The next meeting at Pontefract takes place on Friday 18^th July with Flash, a tribute band to Queen, performing live after racing. Get your tickets at pontefract-races.co.uk

Contact:           Jonathan Mullin (CEO/Clerk of the Course) 01977 781307

It’s back and it all starts at Pontefract!  We’re really excited about the 17^th running of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival, sponsored by Sky Bet.

Well established among its loyal following, the festival is also a great opportunity for new racegoers to see everything that racing in Yorkshire can offer as over a period of nine days, there are 11 race meetings, across eight Yorkshire courses.

Yorkshire is well known for it’s love of the horse, it is in fact the birthplace of the modern-day thoroughbred (that’s another story!) and for many, it is the horse that brings them to the races.  But, that’s not all we have to offer and it is the additional elements that add to the festival feel.

Pontefract really set the tone on the opening night on Friday, 18 July, with a beer festival and Flash, a Queen tribute band will be performing after racing.  What a way to kick off not only your weekend, but also the Summer Festival.  It absolutely sets the tone for what is to come.

And that’s not all!  Before racing starts the jockeys will be out showing off their football skills in the Paddock and Chips competition, which will be raising funds for charity of the week, Racing Welfare.

There is more at stake then just winning races.  There is an ongoing competition for leading trainer and leading jockey of the week.  Sponsored by Goldsborough Hall, the leading trainer will win a night at the Hall, with dinner in the beautiful restaurant.

Sky Bet sponsor the leading jockey award as well as a prize for the yard that wins the most Best Turned Out horse awards in the Sky Bet sponsored races, which includes a cash prize for the yard and a pizza party!

Not forgetting the horses of course – Pontefract set the standard by giving every equine winner a bag of Poskitt’s carrots to take home and that will be repeated throughout the festival.

Throughout the week, there are afternoon and evening meetings, family days, charity races and music nights.  It finishes at York on Saturday 26^th July.

We look forward to welcoming all the racegoers, new and old to the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival and hope to see you at Pontefract on the opening night.  You can book your tickets here!

Attention Trainers, Owners, Stable Staff and Track Specialists!

New to Pontefract for the 2025 season is the Chaiman’s Challenge. ANY horse achieving three wins at ‘Ponte’ will unlock a bounty of £3000, with an additional £1000 on offer for any further victories!

The trainer of any horse to achieve the feat will be rewarded with a race sponsorship and use of a private box facility with badges included for them and their owners at the season finale on Monday 20th October (or at the 2026 season opener should the third victory be achieved on the final day of the season).

The stable staff at the yard of any horse recording three victories will receive a £500 prize.

As an additional prize there is £1000 up for grabs for the owners of the horse who makes the most individual appearances at Pontefract in the 2025 season, with a £250 prize for the stable staff of the yard.

William Bethell, Chairman of Pontefract Racecourse, said:

“It’s a very nice initiative to reward those who return regularly to support the racecourse and to give Owners and Trainers an additional incentive to come to Pontefract. It’s always nice to see previous winners return and hopefully, as the season progresses, we will see more do so”.

Pontefract Races CEO and Clerk of the Course, Jonathan Mullin said:

“We’re very grateful for the fantastic support we receive from Owners, Trainers and Stable Staff who are regular visitors to Pontefract and we wanted to do something to reward that support.

“The Chairman’s Challenge provides a good incentive for previous winners to return and together with the prize for the horse who makes the most appearances, it will hopefully make for an interesting narrative across the season”.

Who will be the first to make it to three?

The Fillers Fill Ponte!

The first evening fixture of the 2025 Pontefract season took place last Friday night with music after racing from ‘The Fillers’. A stellar crowd were out in force to see some exciting racing and then dance the night away with the superb Killers tribute band.

There was some fantastic racing to kick off proceedings too. The feature race on the card was £30,000 Juddmonte EBF Restricted Maiden and 10 two-year-olds took to the turf to strut their stuff. Newmarket raider Farough, trained by Roger Varian and ridden by Ray Dawson justified favouritism running out an impressive winner and he looks set for an exciting campaign. The runner-up, Big Fun, made an eye-catching debut and will surely go one better before too long. 

The opening race on the card, The FBS Chartered Accountants Handicap, went the way of the Liam Bailey-trained Protest Rally. The five-year-old gelding came into the race in good form and delivered a strong challenge inside the final furlong to score under 5lb claimer Cian Horgan. The partnership also tasted victory at Musselburgh earlier this month.

The Napoleons Casino Bradford Maiden Handicap was won in good style by odds-on favourite Arundel and Silvestre De Sousa. Ed Dunlop’s representative showed improved form when runner-up at Beverley earlier in the month and got off the mark at the fifth attempt. Further improvement can be expected of him now. 

The finish of the night came in the PMW Quarries Handicap over 1m4f when Dubai Venture and Sam James made all the running before narrowly holding off the challenge of Agathon by a nose with Fiftyshadesaresdev just a head further back in third. He was another going one better than a Beverley runner-up effort earlier in the month.

Maddelina displayed plenty of promise when third on her debut at Carlisle and showed the benefit of that experience to take the Jamie and Kathie Clements Memorial Fillies’ Novice Stakes. John & Sean Quinn’s filly is open to further improvement and could be one to follow as she moves into handicap company.

The Julian Foster Memorial rounded off the card and Mount King provided the in-form Tim Easterby yard with another winner. David Allan was forced to bide his time following a slow start but delivered his challenge approaching the final furlong, coming away to win in impressive fashion. 

The next race meeting at the Yorkshire track is another evening fixture. The award-winning Racing For Everyone Race Night, held on Monday 9^th June, sees the track throwing it’s doors open to guests who may be looking to go racing for the first time and regular racegoers alike. 

www.pontefract-races.co.uk

Contact:           Jonathan Mullin (Chief Executive/Clerk of the Course) 01977 781307

REVIEW – PONTEFRACT RACECOURSE TUESDAY 8^th APRIL 2025

THE 2025 SEASON GETS UNDERWAY AT PONTEFRACT

The 2025 racing season at Pontefract got underway on Tuesday 8^th April under blue skies and resplendent sunshine, a stark contrast to the 2024 opener! The day began with a tribute to outgoing COO Richard Hammill, a wonderful servant to Pontefract Racecourse and the racing industry in his 24 years at the track. The Thank You Richard Hammill Novice Stakes was won in game fashion by the Richard Fahey trained Strong Warrior. An impressive winner at Ayr on his only run to date, he made all the running under Oisin Orr and gamely held off the late challenge of Veblen Good to maintain his 100% record. With further improvement likely, he certainly has the look of a sprinter to follow.

The feature race of the day, the £30,000 Every Race Live on Racing TV Handicap over the five-furlong trip went the way of Fahrenheit Seven and Connor Beasley. Mark Usher’s representative was held up in rear through the early part of the race but finished strongly to deny the front running Dream Composer.

The two mile and two-furlong stayers handicap remembered popular course stalwart, Jamaican Flight and produced the most impressive winner of the day in the shape of Diamand De Vindecy. Easing to the front in the home straight, he readily scooted clear of his rivals to win by almost ten-lengths under Jason Hart. His trainer Robert Bevis subsequently hinted that he would likely return to Pontefract for a crack at more stayers glory in the coming months.

Regular sponsors Napoleon’s Casino, Bradford are once again sponsoring a series of races during the season and the winner of the first of them was Dark Cloud Rising. Danny Tudhope had the David O’Meara-trained gelding in pole position from the outset and he was in full command in the closing stages.

Letmeseethecolts was a popular winner of The Tommy Hepple Memorial Handicap. Relishing every yard of the one mile four-furlong test, she stretched clear under Joanna Mason and it would be no surprise to see the Brian Ellison-trained filly in the winners’ enclosure again soon.

The penultimate race was the Celebrating the Life of Cheryl Hibbert Handicap which saw a thrilling head-to-head battle in the closing stages between Tofrida and One More Dream, the latter narrowly getting the better of the argument under a power-packed ride from Jason Hart. This was an eleventh career success for the six-year-old, trained by John and Sean Quinn.

Partisan Hero sent favourite backers home happy, following up his February Kempton success in the concluding Racing TV Sky Channel 424 Handicap for Richard Kingscote and David Loughnane.

The next meeting is on Monday 14^th April and includes the Pontefract Marathon over 2m5f – making it the longest handicap race run on the flat in this country! It’s also OAP Free Day and over 60s can register for a free ticket via the website (pontefract-races.co.uk).

Contact:  Jonathan Mullin                            (Chief Executive Officer)  01977 781307

JONATHAN MULLIN APPOINTED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AT PONTEFRACT

Pontefract Racecourse are pleased to announce that Jonathan Mullin has been appointed as their Chief Executive Officer to take over from Richard Hammill, who is to leave on 7th March to take up a position as Chief Executive Officer at a Tourist Attraction and Events Venue.

Jonathan is currently Operations and Marketing Manager and Raceday Clerk of the Course at Ripon Racecourse. He will be taking up his new role at Pontefract on the 17th March but will continue to help out at Ripon in the short term as well as being available for raceday Clerking duties as often as possible in the coming season.

A racing fan from a young age, Jonathan completed the British Horseracing Authority Graduate Development Programme in 2008 and after spending 4 years on the horseracing desk at PA Sport he joined Sky Bet as a Racing and Greyhound Trader, followed by 4 ½ years working across several bookmakers as Horseracing and Greyhounds Trading and Risk Manager. He graduated from the inaugural Thoroughbred Horseracing Industry MBA course in 2017 and joined Ripon in 2018 where he has since become accredited as a Clerk of the Course as well as handling raceday operations, social media, community engagement and the sustainability programme and being involved in many aspects of racecourse administration.

Pontefract Director Norman Gundill said “I myself, my fellow Directors, and all the staff at Pontefract are delighted that Jonathan is to join us. He has had an excellent grounding in racecourse management at Ripon and we have no doubt he will continue the excellent leadership Richard has given us by providing strong commercial management and will develop and deliver strategies and innovation to continue to strengthen Pontefract’s position in the industry”.

Jonathan Mullin said “I’m delighted to be joining Pontefract and I’m looking forward to building on the fantastic work that Richard and the team have done over the years. I’ve been privileged to spend a wonderful seven years at Ripon and I owe a debt of gratitude to James Hutchinson and everybody at Yorkshire’s Garden Racecourse for all I have learned during that time.

It’s a very exciting time to be joining Pontefract and I’m looking forward to the challenge of driving the racecourse forward, with the start of the season on Tuesday 8th April now just around the corner”.