On Friday I headed to Newmarket Races for one of their music nights. For the first time, I had a ticket for one of the hospitality areas, the Champions Lawn. Long story short, I can highly recommend it.
I have never thought about booking a hospitality area before. When I go to the races I want to be amongst the action. I want to go to the parade ring and see the horses. I want to go put a bet on with the bookies. I want to see what the different odds are. I always felt like if you are paying more for a hospitality area, you are less likely to do all these things. Plus some of the hospitality areas are quite far away, making this more difficult.
But Friday was very warm. So I was actually looking forward to knowing I would have a seat and some shade throughout the day. The Champions Lawn is trackside, with it’s own bar and next to the main Grandstand area. There is a huge screen what showed footage from the parade ring, so while you don’t see as much as if you were ringside, I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything. I could also stay in my seat during the race and still have a great view of the horses going past and the race one the screen. Not something I could say for the main Grandstand or even the Premier enclosure, especially on busy race meetings.
The actual lawn was lovely. We had our own table, what you choose on a first come first served basis. They did warn that you might have to share tables with other groups, but even with all the tickets sold out, there were plenty of empty tables while we were there with most people coming and going throughout the day. Aside from the great view and their own bar (with table service) they also had their own toliets. So no queuing for ages to use the other toilets.
I really enjoyed being on the Champions Lawn and I certainly would go again, especially in a larger group of people who might not be that interested in running around the racecourse seeing everything. It gives you a really good base as a group to come and go as you please. (You can even bring food in from the other food stands.) It was a much more relaxing day at the races, what was needed in the heat! But still just as enjoyable.
I also backed quite a few winners, including The Owners Group’s Dutch Decoy in the last.
Last Updated on 16/08/2022
