Ffos Las gets ready for a busy August

THE next Welsh Government Covid update is this week and we’re hoping it will lead to further relaxation of the rules for our customers.

The racecourse bars and restaurants have had multiple different uses in recent months to adhere to the relevant guidelines and we are looking forward to getting everything back to normal, while continuing to operate in a safe environment.

There is a busy programme of racing this summer, starting with our opening flat fixture on Tuesday. There are seven races from 1.55pm. Tickets are £15 and we’ll be running our usual bus service from Llanelli Railway Station. For details of timings, please see our website.

Our restaurant package includes admission, a three-course meal, a raceday programme and a base for the day in Bridles overlooking the course.

Champion jockey Oisin Murphy is joint leading rider on the flat at Ffos Las in the last five years and he’s popular with our regulars. We’re hoping he’ll be with us on July 20.

In August we race five times, kicking off on Tuesday the 3rd. We host a double-header on August 11-12, and there is another twoday meeting on August 26-27.

The second of those days is Ladies’ Day and there is a £500 award for the Best Dressed Lady.

It’s worth repeating that we have decided to move the Kaiser Chiefs event from August 27 to Thursday, June 2, next year, the first day of the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend.

We’re excited to be holding the 100th anniversary of the Welsh Champion Hurdle on Saturday, October 16. The race was first run at Cardiff’s Ely Racecourse in 1921 and spent many years at Chepstow before being relaunched when Ffos Las opened in 2009.

There’s a flat meeting at our sister course Chepstow on Thursday. Racing gets under way at 2.10pm and tickets are £20 and must be booked in advance.

Bargoed-born jockey David Probert is having a successful July with eight winners so far, including Sandrine in the Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket on Friday. He’s now reached 34 winners for the season and lies ninth in the jockeys’ championship.

He has won a host of big races in his career including the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood and the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot. In the last five years he has amassed more than £5 million in prize money. Last year he won the Flat Jockey of the Year title at the Welsh Horse Racing Awards.