Evening racing brought in the crowds at Chepstow

LAST THURSDAY was the last chance to go racing in the evening at Chepstow Racecourse in 2007. Evening fixtures - as well as Bank Holiday meetings, the next of which is on Monday 27 August - form the core of the racecourse's Flat racing season in the spring and the summer. After the event was rained off at the start of July, the racecourse rearranged the John Smith's Beer & Balti night for the evening. To mark the occasion, a special package, including Premier Enclosure admission, a racecard, and a one-course curry buffet in Silks Restaurant, is available for £35. Thursday's racing also features the longest race of 2007 on the Flat at the Monmouthshire racecourse - two and a quarter miles. Evening racing has never been more popular in Britain. Next year, the number of evening meetings, bolstered by floodlit racing at all-weather tracks - rises from under 300 a year to more than 370. As recently as two years ago, that number was little more than 200. Chepstow was one of the racecourses that set the trend, and evening fixtures continue to draw large attendances. Admission next Thursday is £18 for the Premier Enclosure and £13 for the Grandstand & Paddock. Children under 16 accompanied by an adult are admitted free of charge. With the summer nights now drawing in, the first race is due off at 5.50pm, with the last of six at 8.20pm. More details about racing at Chepstow are available on web site http://www.chepstow-racecourse.co.uk">www.chepstow-racecourse.co.uk; alternatively contact the Racecourse Office on 01291 622260. The meeting saw the continuation of Rory Moore's relentless pursuit of the jockeys championship, which is also being chased by Sed Sanders and Jamie Spencer. Having ridden a winner earlier in the day at Salisbury, Moore made the journey to the Wye Valley course, where some pundits were forecasting he could repeat the feat of Sir Gordon Richards many years ago, when he went through the card. However, Moore had to be satisfied with just three winners, while Spencer managed just a double earlier in the day.