BXM12 PAGES OF NORTHANTS SPORTIRT

PLUS: WALTER TULL • THE SAINTS • GREYHOUND RACING

Sports awardsTowcester Races BTCC 2012

CONTENTS

The Team

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3 NEWS - All the latest news from the world of sport in

Northants. 4 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE SPORTS AWARDS Find out more about the most prestigious sports awards

ceremony in the county.

6 SAFETY IN MOTORSPORT Beth Berridge finds out

about safety in F1.

7 BTCC AT SILVERSTONE We went to the penultimate

round of the BTCC, read about the weekend’s events here!

8 BTCC CONTINUED Interactive features - both video

and audio

9 MEMORIAL DAY AT THE COBBLERS Harrison

Hinton explores the life of Walter Tull after his rememberance

service at Sixfields.

10 SAINTS HELP KIDS’ EDUCATION Hannah

Smith finds out about the Saints’ new scheme

11 NEW GREYHOUND TRACK AT TOWCESTER RACECOURSE Emma Walker finds out more

12 A DAY OUT AT TOWCESTER What has

northamptonshire got for horse racing?

Walter Tull: a poineering footballer.

A day at the races.

We find out about the new greyhound track.

Awards all round in Kettering.

UNIQUE

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9THE PARALYMPIC sport

“goalball” is coming to the University of

Northampton on December 5.A taster session has been organised by Stefanie Davis and Hugh Spence of Northamptonshire’s Association for the Blind to get people involved with the sport. The sport is designed for the visually impaired, however the taster session is open to everyone.“It’s an opportunity for the

students at Northampton University, and also the wider public throughout the county, to find out what goalball actually us, to get to speak to people who actually play it, and to have a go,” Stefanie said.Following the success of this year’s Olympic and Paralympics games, the organisers hope that team GB goalball player Niall Graham shall be able to attend.“We have our fingers crossed that Niall will be able to come.

He comes from Corby… and is very keen to support us… and has played on an international level,” explained Stefanie.

The event shall try and encourage people to become goalball volunteers, so a possible county goalball league team can be formed in the new year. Stefanie said: “There will be training sessions for new coaches there. We will also need volunteers to help with the setup of the courts and to help with exercises and warm-ups.”“It’s an all-encompassing event, and will hopefully get people thinking they can do something really different,” Stefanie added.The taster session shall take place in the sports halls at Park Campus, Boughton Green Road, Northampton. To find out more, contact either Stefanie or Hugh on 01604 719193.

THE UNIVERSITY of Northampton’s Vice Chancellor Nick

Petford believes the new motorsport University Technical College (UTC) in Silverstone will benefit people both locally and nationally.

Professor Petford’s comments came after South Northamptonshire County Council approved plans for the £10 million development to be built at the Silverstone race circuit on 1st November.

“I am very excited about what this could mean. If you go along to one of these colleges, you will be taught by people who are working in the industry, and you’ll be working on problems relevant to them. All this real-world stuff shall come in a really fresh approach for children,” he said.

A recent skills audit found a gap in engineering education opportunities in the county. Silverstone UTC shall allow over 500 students, aged between 14-19, to study Engineering, Motorsport and Events Management.

Professor Petford said: “On a county level, it shall help plug that skills gap… [and] we need to remain competitive as a country and give young people every opportunity that they can possibly have to out-perform the other people, like the Chinese and Japanese, who also perform these skills.”

Silverstone UTC is in partnership with the University of Northampton, Tresham College and Silverstone Circuits Ltd. It is set to open in September 2013.

Is everyone ready for Goalball?

Petford supports plans for UTC at Silverstone

NO R T H A M P TO N S H I R E golfing teachers are having lessons of their

own.Northamptonshire Golfers from the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) have come together to give annual autumn lessons to over 10 golfing teachers in the county.Organiser of the lessons, David Davis of the Northamptonshire County Golf Partnership believes giving teachers

lessons shall ensure coaching moves forward to benefit their pupils.

David said: “In order to provide the best coaching it is very important that coaches are made aware of and are shown how to implement the latest coaching techniques, theories and technology.” “Better coaches will deliver higher quality coaching and hence create better players,” added David.

Professional Golfers go back to school

AUDIOClick to hear a report on Goalball

Northamptonshire Versus enjoyed the glitz and glamour of the county’s most prestigious sports awards this month and got up close and personal with a bronze medalist.

Sports Awards

The county’s finest sporting talent was showcased

at the Northamptonshire Sports Awards this month. Sportsmen and women from Daventry, Corby, Kettering and Northampton attended the eighth annual event, held at the Kettering Conference Centre.

Anne Panter, bronze medallist in Women’s Hockey at London 2012, was on hand to deliver awards to the winners. She said: “Being able to come here, to where I was born and where I lived till I was eighteen is just really special. It’s an honour for me to be able to come here and present awards to people.”

Winners included Charley Hull, picking up the award for Local Sportswoman of the Year. Charley is sixteen years old and ranked as eighth best amateur golfer in the world. On receiving the award she said: “It feels fantastic, it’s a real honour.”

Tom Stephenson from Daventry won the award for Young Sportsman of the Year. Tom has played rugby all over the world and is currently the under eighteen England captain. Tom said: “It is great but I was so nervous.”

Rugby international and Northampton Saints player George Pisi won the award for Sports Personality of the Year. George wasn’t there to receive his

award, but in a video acceptance speech he thanked the people of Northampton for making him feel welcome in our wonderful town.

The Lifetime Contribution to Sport award went to Martin Spencer from Northampton. Martin has been a major influence in setting up a national Mini Basketball Competition. Mini Basketball is like normal basketball but for 5-12 year olds.

He has also been involved in the running of a number of local clubs and coached teams who have played for

our county and nationally.

Martin could not be there to accept his award,

but in

his video acceptance speech said: “I would just like to say a really big thank you for this particular award.”

The awards were centred on the amazing achievements of the men and women who represented the UK in this year’s Olympics. Many of the younger winners could potentially represent Team GB in the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Between the moving video footage from the games and the large balloon displays of the Olympic rings, the event had a certain Olympic buzz about it.

Olympic Games Makers from Northamptonshire

were there to announce the winners. Their distinctive purple and red uniform, adding to the Olympic feel of the place. The Game Makers, who volunteered hours

of their time to help run the events, were given special recognition by the Northamptonshire Sports Organisations.

Tracy Whittaker-Smith won the award for Coach of the Year. Tracy is from Northampton and has trained local trampolinists to an elite level. She was also the Team GB coach for Katherine Driscoll, England’s number one trampolinist.

Tracy has defiantly seen a rise in the amount of young people taking up her sport since London 2012: “That has been a lot more interest since the Olympics, it’s made sport really high profile. We run a summer club and that has recently generated a lot more members. ”

Jon Bull was nominated for Young Sportsman of the year. He holds many archery records in the county and

(Top) The winners showing off thier awards, (below) Hockey star Anne Panter

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played at two Junior Europa Cup events. Jon didn’t win his category this year but he did say has also seen a rise in people taking up archery since the Olympics. He said: “We’ve seen a lot of beginners walking through the door and really enjoying what they’re doing. The coaches at the all the clubs are really good as well so they’re getting a lot of help.”

Chris Holmes, who is the director of Northamptonshire Sport said: “The hard work put in over the last few years will start to bear fruit and a new generation of players, coaches, officials and volunteers will ultimately lead us to conclude that collectively we did inspire a generation.”

And the winner is...Sports Personality of the Year-George Pisi

Lifetime Contribution to Sport-Martin Spencer

Coach of the Year-Tracy Whittaker-Smith

Young Leader of the year-Thomas Davies

Volunteer of the Year-Kevin Bird

Sports School of the year-Park Junior School

Get Active Award-Laura West

Disabled Sports Achiever-Jo Redman

Young Sportswoman-Sophie Donnelly

Young Sportsman-Tom Stephenson

Local Sportswoman-Charley Hull

Local Sportsman-Simon Barclay

Team of the Year-Northamptonshire Combined Events Team

Community Club of the Year-Cogenhoe Cricket Club

Tracy Whittaker-Smith receiving award

Charley Hull wins award for Local Sportswoman

Games Makers receive special award

Tracy Whittaker-Smith before winning the award

Tom Stephenson: Under 18s England Rugby captain

Nominees for Young Sportsman: (Left to right) Sam Round, Jon Bull, Bradley Denny, Tom Stephenson, Jack Haworth.

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The topic of safety has always had a prominent place within Formula 1, Professor Sid Watkins and Sir Jackie

Stewart undoubtedly did a great deal to open people’s eyes to dangers that occur within the sport. ‘Obviously the sport is never going to be 100% safe, but Prof Sid Watkins has made it 95% better.’ James, the sole contributor to the unofficial twitter account for F1.

The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix brought great sorrow to everyone involved with F1. There is no doubt that F1 has always and will always be a dangerous sport, before the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix drivers had fatal crashes, but there was something about that weekend, it may have something to do with the fact that the race track took two amazing drivers lives, along with another driver missing the race due to a crash that occurred in free practice, or it may be because no one had died in 10 years, but something changed the world of Formula 1.

‘Thankfully, it was the wakeup call the sport needed. Changes were made instantly to circuits and the cars and the danger has been reduced.’ Simon Wright, a University of Northampton Graduate.

The PR department at Caterham F1 focused more on the years leading up to the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix ‘if you go back to the early days of motorsport people competed in cars with no seatbelts, without crash helmets and in cars that no safety features built into them at all.’

When asked about the San Marino Grand Prix the response itself really lead to an overwhelming and exceptional thought ‘The steps that were taken after San Marino obviously helped to change the environment the drivers race in, however, the cars are still 100% safe – nothing is, and it is almost certain that at some point something horrific will happen, that’s awful but it’s inevitable.’

Drivers over the last 18 years have pushed themselves, their abilities and their cars to an extreme limit sometimes reaping the rewards, however if it all goes wrong there can be huge ramifications. The Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen crash in Valencia, 2010 showed that drivers can stand either side of the safety line, just a little slip and cars can get flipped, luckily because of how advanced the cars were both drivers walked away,

uninjured. There has of course been a lot of

discussion with how far safety can go in F1, there are currently rumours going around that closed canopies may come into F1 after the horrendous crash that happened in Belgium, 2012. Many fans feel that this will take away from the excitement that arises from watching F1 as a fan, but also the thrill of being a driver.

Along with driver errors mechanical failures play a huge part of incidents, Felipe Massa’s frightening crash in 2009 when part of Rubens Barrichello’s BrawnGP car flew across the racing line, hitting Massa on his helmet, the Brazilian had to undergo surgery and was out of F1 for the rest of the season.

Many people have said that in particular with Felipe Massa’s accident in 2009 that left F1 fans and workers all over the world fearing for his life, if that accident had happened 10 years ago, Massa would probably have died, but the fact that safety has been able to evolve ultimately saved his life, the way the marshals treated his accident and the fast response of the medical team, even

Safety in motorsport

With the recent death of a motosport safety legend , Beth Berridge went deep into the heart of safety surrounding motorsport.

Images courtesy of SMS Images

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Images courtesy of SMS Images

the advancements in helmet technology all helped to bring Massa back to a healthy racing driver.

In 1995 Mika Hakkinen suffered an almost fatal crash, but luckily he is still with us and was able to continue his amazing racing career. Professor Sid Watkins did

incredible things for Hakkinen. Hakkinen sustaining a skull fracture, internal bleeding and swallowing his tongue, which blocked his airway.

Professor Sid Watkins saved Hakkinens life by performing an emergency cricothyroidotomy (emergency airway puncture) this was all

performed on the side of the race track.

Not only was Professor Sid Watkins an amazing doctor, all the drivers loved him, fans loved him, and he was very affectionately nicknamed Prof around the paddock.

affectionately nicknamed Prof around the paddock.

JASON Plato and Mat Jackson enjoyed victories at the penultimate

round, while championship rival Matt Neal struggled to score points.

Of the three races at Silverstone, one win was secured by Mat Jackson of Redstone Racing, and two were scooped up by Jason Plato of MG Momentum.

Both drivers were tough contenders for the races at the penultimate round after strong performances at the qualifying sessions earlier that weekend.

After a pole position start, Plato was under early pressure from Mat Jackson, and, after a short period

under the Safety Car, Jackson managed to break through Plato on lap eleven. The two started to extend a

slight lead over the rest, and it looked like it would be a close battle for first

place. A problem with the throttle cable in Jackson’s Ford Focus however, meant he bowed out at lap twenty-two, allowing Plato to regain the lead and secure the first win, becoming chief rival to championship leader, Gordon Shedden.

Three-time champion Matt Neal, who qualified in a humble 10th position, was in for a disastrous round. His first race

was marred with a faulty turbo boost, and he retired early at lap fourteen. Disaster struck again in race two, when that same turbo boost fault caused an engine fire, once again pulling him out of the race and quashing his chance at points.

The second race began with another confident start from Plato in his MG6, with Robert Collard and Dave

Newsham close behind in second and third, and Aron Smith and Rob Austin behind them in fourth and fifth. Mat Jackson was making his way up from his 17th place on the grid, passing the first lap in 12th position, and continuing to climb up to fifth place ahead of Austin by lap eight.

Things looked promising for Plato as he sped towards his second win of the day, but an electrical problem caused him to retire at lap twenty, two laps before the finish. Collard briefly led the way before being overtaken by Jackson, who secured the win despite a 17th place start. He was joined at the podium by Rob Collard and Dave Newsham who finished second and third.

The final race of the weekend saw favourites Plato and Neal at the back of the grid after their devastating mechanical problems in the earlier race. Nick Foster of eBay Motors led the race in his BMW up until the half way marker, before being outstripped by Plato, who had made a spectacular climb from 20th place, and secured the final win, giving him his sixth victory of the season.

saw the action packed, flame filled , penultimate weekend of the British Touring Car championship at Silverstone Race Track. Reported by Eve Livesley.

VIDEO

Lea Wood

Born in Hereford, 28 year-old Lea Wood has been passionate about racing since a young age.

He has been racing with BINZ Racing, a family-run team, since the start of the year in his silver, orange and black Vauxhall Vectra.

Wood’s race before Silverstone at Knockhill (he didn’t race at Rockingham this year) resulted in a failure-to-finish in one race, but a 13th position finish in the other two races. Click the picture to find out more about Lea.

Matt Neal

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Versus went to Silverstone Racetrack to speak to professionals from the British Touring Car Industry.

@ SILVERSTONE

AUDIO

AUDIO

AUDIO

Touring Car racing has been a favorite pastime of us Brits for many years. However in more recent years, the teams and drivers are struggling to find sponsorship. More and more often, they have to fund themselves, which can be very costly. So how is this going to affect the future of BTCC. Click on the picture to listen to the audio.

Self funding for BTCC

Behind the scenes at BTCCDo you ever stop and think about the workers behind the scene at Silverstone? Beth Berridge went to Silverstone ahead of the penultimate round of the BTCC, to find out about the roles that’s need to be filled in order for the racetrack to run smoothly. Click on the picture to listen to the audio.

Dunlop, BTCC sponsorMickey Butler from Dunlop motorsport talks to Emma Walker about how he got into his job and where the BTCC world will be without the main sponsor. Mickey talks about the future of dunlop and the British touring car championship’s partnership.Click on the picture to listen to the audio.

Safety at BTCCVIDEO

Safety is always taken seriously within the BTCC. There are preventions in place to ensure safety of the drivers, crew and the crowd. Harrison Hinton went to Silverstone to speak to a number of professions from the industry.Click on the picture to watch the video.

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Crossing the white lineHarrison Hinton brings the past and present together as he explores the life of one of Britain’s first black footballers: Walter Tull.

The last post took place near the post yesterday as football supporters gathered to remember

the former Northampton Town footballer, come WWI officer, Walter Tull at his memorial outside Sixfields.

Starting his football career for Northampton Town in 1911 might excuse people for saying they haven’t heard of Tull. But Tull’s glittering football career of 111 appearances at Northampton and being named “the catch of the season” was equally overlooked then, by being at the butt of racial abuse when he played as an inside forward.

People like Northampton Town’s Chaplain and former referee the Reverend Ken Baker believes that Tull and his story should be told. Having conducted the memorial service for five years now, he’s pleased that this year’s turn-out was so good.

“It’s important that we remember Walter Tull because of his background,” says Reverend Baker. “As well as being a

good footballer, we must remember that he was the second footballer of mixed race to play in a top division.”

Drafted into the Army during 1916 and rising to the rank of Second Lieutenant sounds like redemption for Tull. But here’s the injustice: Walter was recommended for the Military Cross, but never received it.

Everything Tull endured has now encouraged others like the Reverend Baker to speak out. Walter Tull’s biographer and award-winning director Phil Vasili tells me how his new play “Tull” will “reflect the extreme prejudice against mixed relations” that existed during the footballer’s time.

“I became interested in immigration in Britain’s history and in particular the relationship of sport and football in the lives of Britain’s minorities,” Mr Vasili told me. “I wanted to show that people of colour have been involved in all aspects of British society for centuries.”

“It was a dream to write Tull’s biography because he was so inspiring, and a

wonderful challenge as a dramatist to write the play because his life was so full of incredible highs and lows. You really couldn’t make it up,” he adds.

Although Reverend Baker and Mr Vasili agreed that racism was “around in those days”, it made me think if much has really changed since? With racism in football back in the news again with the Mark Clattenburg allegations, I asked them if they were surprised that

very little has changed. “I’m surprised that it is still around because of the complete change in our culture and society,” says Reverend Baker. “I’ve refereed coloured players without any problems, so it is not the players themselves to blame… It’s just a small number of people, being mischief makers in my view, who make this the sad subject that it is,” he added.

Given these rows in football today, I asked Mr. Vasili if his play might make people think again about racism “Marx said that history repeats itself first as tragedy then farce. I hope this comes across,” he says. “Our rulers don’t like us knowing too much of our own history, especially in detail because then we would see the same mistakes being repeated. And that might then lead us to ask why. Whether I’ve managed to convey this in the play is not for me to say,” he added.

As Reverend Baker and I stood inside the grounds at Sixfields, it was clear that Chaplain could think of no way to stop racism in football. “I think the service today will make people aware of it, but the fact that these services have been going for so many years now, I don’t think they will help people reconsider,” he explains.

However, Mr Vasili did say that Tull wouldn’t be looking on the down side. “I feel he would still be pleased to see the action taken by fans against racism... and would recognise that, like in his day, professional football is all about the result.”

Walter Tull

The memorial at NTFC

SAINTS

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It has been many years since I have attended an after school club. Memories of that cold Community

Centre hall, warm orange squash and trying to hide from a game involving a giant parachute, still stays with me to this day.

Thankfully those days are a thing of the past, due to initiatives like the Saints Study Centre, based at our very own Franklins Gardens. The centre offers a variety of learning schemes for children aged between nine and fourteen.

Pete Austin has been working for the centre for nine years, he says, “The great thing about it is, the kids don’t know they’re learning. It is just fun but they are learning important life skills.”

This week at the Study centre, children from Delapre School and Greenoaks School are learning circus skills. All the children are ten years old and have been selected by their schools because they are the quieter children in their classes.

Anna Lettes is a teacher at Delapre School, she says: “These kids are all quiet and shy, when they come here but they get to meet new people, they all

have something to talk about, and it’s just something really special for them to do.” Pete says: “It will give them the confidence to go out and try something new.”

Johnny Smith is a volunteer at the Study Centre. He got involved when Pete came to his school looking for people to volunteer. Now a third year Primary Education student at the University of Northampton,

Johnny has been volunteering with the Saints Study Centre for five years.

He says, “I was thinking about

going into teaching, so I thought it be a good opportunity. It has been really helpful with my development.” You can really see how the kids develop. If they are really quiet when they first come in, by the time we have our ceremonies at the end they are usually totally different. Also the schools, who use the centre, can really see the change, which is really nice.”

Johnny says he wants to

stay in touch with everyone at the study centre. He is looking forward to taking his own classroom of children one day: “it will be nice to be able to take them down there for a day.”

Set up thirteen years ago, the Saints Study Centre was a nationwide government initiative, designed to help improve literacy and numeracy in young children. Originally funded by the

government, the centre is now receives a lot of help from the Saints Rugby Club and any money they earn from

the classes they offer. Jeanette Campkin became involved with the centre after hearing about it from her children, who were already volunteering there. Nine years on and she says it is the best job

in the world, “we don’t get a lot of time off, we work hard, but it’s very pleasant.” Children at the study centre can

learn team games and circus skills. They can enjoy Rugby sessions and interview the team. They can do stadium tours or do drama sessions. All the classes are designed to improve the children’s literacy, numeracy, ICT skills, self-esteem and self-confidence.

Sa nts Study CentreThe Saints Study Centre has been working to improve the lives of school children all accross Northampton. Versus has been speaking to the organiser to find out what their work in the community has acheived.

“It is just fun but they are learning

important life skills.”

(Main picture) Children from Delapre School and Greenoaks School with circus trainer Kevin Burke. (Below) Jessica Briggs 10.

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Towcester Racecourse has developed plans to create the first Greyhound track to be opened in 25 years. Plans came together after racecourse bosses felt that

there was a need to expand the business and use its current assets to ensure the future of the course in today’s current financial climate.

The greyhound track is expected to open in May 2013 and the proposed cost to build the track and infrastructure is approximately £1.25 million. The management at Towcester are expecting to see a growing number of crowds each week at the new track from around the Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes area.

Kevin Ackerman, Racecourse manager, said: “The Greyhound business will be developed along the same principles we apply to our horse racing product by providing a good, cost effective and enjoyable experience to our clients”

The new track will be built inside the current horseracing track, which is directly opposite the main grandstand. Currently at Towcester they offer a range of hospitality packages including private boxes and access to restaurants.

To attract punters, the racecourse are hoping to hold at least 3 meetings a week and have announced the backing of satellite information services betting who will broadcast the meetings on a number of different platforms including betting shops.

George Irvine, managing Director, SIS Betting commented on the deal: “SIS is committed to greyhound racing in the UK and Ireland and we want to promote it worldwide and help broaden its appeal even further. We believe this agreement can help both Towcester and ourselves achieve our objectives”

“We’re delighted to be involved with such a ground- breaking venture.”Work is due to start shortly on the course and will not affect the scheduled horseracing meetings. Creating a new greyhound track will be another step in helping to secure a future for the greyhound sport.

For more information about Towcester Racecourse and up to date news on the greyhound track visit :http://www.towcester-racecourse.co.uk

Greyhound Track at Towcester

Emma Walker went to find about Towcester Racecourse’s new plans for next year

Towcester’s grandstand

Design plans for the new track

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As a County, Northamptonshire is famous for motorsport racing. Yet the racing sport that is often overlooked in the county is Horse Racing.

Towcester Racecourse, just outside the heart of the town centre, is owned by Lord Hesketh and boasts an impressive track and grounds. The cream art deco themed buildings give off the impression of being in a tropical country but the openness of the land creates a wind that is anything but tropical. As a new initiative in 2011, the racecourse announced that the public would be allowed to gain free entry to most race meetings all year round. The initiative was designed to attract more punters to the track that may not be interested in horse racing to help the industry gain popularity. At Towcester’s first November meeting of 2012, an impressive line up of races appeared on the card. Despite champion Jockey Tony McCoy having 28 stitches in his face, crowds were out to see if the champ could ride to victory at Towcester. Behind the scenes in the weighing room, Shane Clark, McCoy’s valet prepares for the day ahead by laying out the silks and saddles for each jockey and race. Shane said “ I have been a valet for 28 years and have travelled to every course but it’s nice to come to Towcester as it is a lot smaller and less commercial than the likes of Cheltenham.” Jockeys are piling in to the sauna ahead of a long day at the office starting with the first race 12.50. Whilst most of the crowd is made up of horse racing fanatics and gambling proffessionals. Towcester welcomes large coach trips and even offers a range of top quality hospitality suites. A champagne bar is hidden within the back of the grandstand but tea and coffee

flows more than the bottles of champagne. Kevin Ackerman racecourse manager, said: “ We put quality into our hospitality and pride ourselves on delivering a good day out”. The betting ring buzzes with gamblers but book makers are of a smaller number due to the current financial climate. Smaller meetings such as Towcester are not as profitable for the small scale bookmakers. This may be due to the popularity of the sport decreasing or the introduction of online betting sites such as Betfair.

After the third race 36 year old top Jockey Noel Fehily, whom has been riding for 15 years professionally, has a break in his races to talk about Towcester.

“I got into horse racing as we always had ponies at home in Ireland, I always had a love for it. “

Noel joked about Towcester making a good cup of tea for when it is cold but he said: “When the ground is soft here

in Towcester, it’s a great course but I don’t like it when its not”. Noel was hopeful for his last ride of the day but joked saying he was doing “pretty rubbish”.

Towcester’s management are always keen to create the best race-day for visitors and are constantly looking to improve the track and its facilities. The first of the

November meetings attracted a large crowd and Tony McCoy managed to live up to his title by riding a winner.

Horse racing is a large asset for Northamptonshire that should not be overlooked. Towcester are

holding a Christmas ale and race-day with live events on Saturday 1 December.

For more details visit: www.towcester-racecourse.co.uk

Emma Walker visited Towcester Racecourse to find out what the county’s horse racing world has to offer.

Jockey Noel Fehily

Tony McCoy