Introducing Fakenham: Part 1

As our regular readers will know, our much loved local racecourse is Fakenham Racecourse. Really it should be called Pudding Norton Racecourse, as that’s where it can be found, on the outskirts of Fakenham. I must say Pudding Norton is a great name (and food lover Yorkie approves) although perhaps it would sound a bit too stodgy to be a venue for fast running race horses.

Your impression of Fakenham racecourse will depend on whether it's the first race course you’ve visited (as it was for us) or whether you come to it after visiting lots of other courses, especially the bigger ones, such as Ascot, Cheltenham, Newmarket or Aintree. If the latter applies to you, you might think Fakenham is a bit dowdy and something of a let down, since it has no posh buildings and stands and is very definitely rustic. However, WE LOVE IT as it unique, completely without pretensions, and has its own special charm.  We always feel at home at Fakenham and is a very friendly place to visit. From the men who take your money and help you to park, to the gate and fence attendants and the other racing fans in the stands you will get always get a friendly comment.  While at Ascot you might expect to see ladies in dresses with hats, and men in morning suits, at Fakenham tweeds and wellies are much more the order of the day, and the look is just right there.

But what about the course itself. Well, like Cheltenham and Aintree, it is an anti-clockwise, left handed course, which is good for left footed horses but not for the right footed.  It’s a bit less than a mile round, which means that for many races we are fortunate to see the horses pass in front of the stands 3 times. It is also supposed to be quite a tight course, being more of a square than an oval, and this often catches both horse and rider out. As we have seen on several occasions, the course demands respect, and it doesn’t pay to dismiss it as an inconsequential rural backwater.

Sadly we only have about 10 meetings a year starting in October and ending at the end of May but thankfully our membership gives us lots of reciprocal meetings at other racecourses, to go to throughout the year. Each year the Racecourse also hosts a Point to Point meeting and a Arabian Day.

There's lots more to tell you, so part 2 will follow soon.

Love Patrick and friends xxx