WARWICK RACECOURSE
Course: Warwick racecourse - £5 Family Fun Raceday
🎫 Ticket & value: Pie and Pint Package
👀 Track view: ⭐️⭐️
🍔 Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍺 Guinness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭕️ Parade Ring: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🏇 Runners and riders: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎉 Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️ Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
👍🏻 Best for: Guinness 🍺
We were invited down to Warwick Racecourse to review their ‘Pie and Pint Package’ on their £5 Friday Raceday. Located in the centre of the stunning market town of Warwick, the racecourse is comfortably accessible by car, train or walking distance depending where you live. As for the fixture, it fell nicely on the Friday in half term which encouraged plenty of families and children to attend a great raceday fixture at fantastic value. The racecourse put a great emphasis on activities for families and children, with a silent disco going all day alongside band and music tuition, spin the wheel, darts and a tombola to get stuck into. These were all linked to local charities as well, which meant the money being made on the day was going to important and local projects that will impact the local community.
Beginning with the Track View at Warwick, the course itself is a left handed track with an extremely long straight which runs infront of the parade ring and grandstand area. From the rail you get a decent view of the horses heading up the home straight towards the winning post, whilst also being able to see them for parts of the racecourse on the far side. However, whilst at the rail you do lose the horses for a good chunk of the race as they head away from the track and up the hill over the far side. Even from the grandstand, you still lose the horses for a good part of the racing which is always unfortunate. Nevertheless, the view from the grandstand does allow for a great view of the home straight in full and you are treated to a brilliant view of the winning post.
Moving onto food and as mentioned we were focusing on the ‘Pie and Pint’ package, which included a pie of choice, any pint and your racing admission as well. The jockey club had a specific pie factory set up for this ticket and the service was brilliant with friendly and helpful staff. The steak and ale pies were delicious, piping hot filling and clearly freshly cooked. It was accompanied by a choice of some chips or mash potato, mushy peas or fresh vegetables and gravy all for an additional £4.50 and these were equally as good in quality and taste. We were particularly impressed by the mushy peas and mash potato, where the mash was creamy and fluffy whilst the mushy peas had wonderful flavour. Overall, a fantastic and affordable food option that really reflected well on the racecourse itself.
Now onto the Guinness and trackside they were serving Guinness for £6.80 a pint, which at a racecourse is excellent value. The pint itself was poured to perfection every single time, and had a creaminess that we hadn’t experienced trackside before. Additionally, the pint was the perfect temperature across the day and the two pour process really allowed the pints to set as they should. As for the taste, it was arguably the best racecourse Guinness we’ve had to date even without factoring in the price point. Even with being served in the basic plastic cups, the taste was creamy, crisp and those coffee notes you’d expect to get from a quality Guinness anywhere.
The Parade Ring at Warwick presents spectators with a wonderful and unique opportunity to get up close to the jockeys, trainers and horses themselves. Situated alongside the track, you are able to watch the horses arrive into the pre-parade ring from the stables as the grooms, stable staff and trainers adjust and saddle up their horses correctly. When the trainers and stable staff are happy, you can then follow the horses directly into the large, oval parade ring which again runs parallel to the home straight. Despite having no tiered standing (unless you’re in a box), there’s plenty of room to access the horses pre-race and enjoy them being paraded around. Another wonderful aspect is how close the weighing room is to the parade ring, meaning racing fans have spectacular access to the jockeys coming out and grabbing autographs and photos with them. Finally, the parade ring then opens up directly onto the track as the horses head down to post as well as post race when they had back into the delightful winning enclosure. A wonderful experience that punters can enjoy, watching the horses journey from stables to the track and back home safely.
As for the Runners & Riders on the card, there were plenty of top jockeys and trainers in attendance alongside some competitive national hunt racing. There were some excellent jockeys lining up on the day including Harry Skelton, Sam Twiston-Davies, Nico De Boinville, James Bowen, Ben Jones and Kielen Woods to name a few. It was also fantastic to see some top class trainers in attendance such as Dan Skelton, Olly Murphy, Fergal Obrien and Ben Pauling - who had a double in the card. A huge bonus for the raceday was seeing Cheltenham bound horses having a racecourse gallop after the final race. Some of these horses included Protektorat, Dysart Enos, Valgrand and Resplendent Grey and it was wonderful seeing these superstars going to work ahead of the big festival in March.
The atmosphere around the track on Friday was fantastic, with ticket prices being so affordable the crowds represented the value for money. There was a real buzz around the racecourse and plenty of noise being made from the grandstands during the races. There family marquee that hosted the silent disco was busy throughout the day with both children and adults enjoying the live DJ playing some excellent music. The charities also enhanced the family experience with a series of games and raffle prizes up for grabs, as well as some music tuition being given to families that were interested. A superb raceday atmosphere that I think other racecourses could certainly learn from.
Overall, Warwick racecourse is a beautiful track in a fantastic central location. The pie and pint package provided excellent food and drink options for racegoers, with the staff being very helpful and efficient on a busy day. The family funday produced a brilliant racecourse atmosphere, providing racegoers of all ages something to enjoy on the day. The racing itself was very competitive and it was amazing to see so many top jockeys, trainers and horses at the track ahead of Cheltenham Festival. A lovely racecourse, we’d highly recommend paying Warwick a visit!
That’s the Paddock Preview for the ‘Pie and Pint package’ at Warwick racecourse, where shall we head next?
