Bath racecourse prepares to host season opener

As the evenings get lighter and warmer, Bath racecourse is preparing for its season opener on Thursday 14 April. The racecourse will hold 22 racing fixtures in 2022 and forms part of a packed flat racing calendar featuring top-quality racing around the UK.

The first big race of the turf season will be the Lincoln Handicap taking place at Doncaster on 26 March. Paddy Power has Modern News as the 5/1 favourite to win the 1 mile handicap in its antepost betting UK. The bookmaker also offers antepost prices on the other important races of the flat season, including the 2000 Guineas and 1000 Guineas, which both take place at Newmarket and the Epsom double header of the Cazoo Oaks and the Derby in June.

The season opener at Bath racecourse will feature the Lansdown Fillies' Stakes, a listed flat horse race for fillies aged three-years and upwards. Last year, the 5f sprint was won by Pat Cosgrave on Declaring Love, a four-year-old trained by John Butler.

Bath racecourse is getting into the spirit of the new season by providing punters with a day of racing free of charge on Free Sunday Race Day, which takes place on 24 April. The free tickets are being awarded on a first come first served basis and a maximum of four free general entry tickets are available per household.

June, July and August will feature a mixture of afternoon and evening meetings, which will hopefully be blessed with some fine summer weather. Ladies' Day will take place on 11 June, including a race as part of the Silk Series, which promotes races exclusively for female jockeys.

Act Reveal...

We're delighted to announce James will be performing Live After Racing here at Bath Racecourse on Friday the 3rd of June.

We are excited to hear their hit songs such as "Laid" and their breakthrough single "Sit down".

Find out more https://t.co/IywAQBxDI1 pic.twitter.com/PW1WJ5dkh1

— Bath Racecourse (@BathRacecourse) February 4, 2022

The summer months also feature live music and in July the indie band James will perform at the Live After Racing fixture, which offers a day of racing followed by a headline set in the evening. The Manchester band, fronted by lead vocalist Tim Booth, are known for hits such as Come Home, Sit Down and She's a Star. James have sold over 25 million albums worldwide and released their latest album All The Colours Of You in 2021.

The Cider Racenight featuring The Wurzels will take place on Saturday 13 August. The Somerset band are known for their popular hits Combine Harvester and Blackbird and the racecourse will showcase the best of the West Country, including traditional cider.

September reverts to afternoon racing and the Bath racecourse season will conclude with the Beckford Stakes run over 1 mile and 6 furlongs on Wednesday 12 October. Last year, jockey David Probert was victorious on the three-year-old Goolwa trained by Andrew Balding. Previous winning jockeys of the race include Hayley Turner and Frankie Dettori.

There is something for everyone at Bath racecourse and the 2022 racing fixtures are likely to be popular with racegoers, and music fans alike.