A one-off competition for Towcester residents has been launched by the town’s racecourse ahead of the 93rd running of the Star Sports English Greyhound Derby Final on Saturday, July 1.
Five Golden Tickets have been printed off by the much-loved Northamptonshire venue and will be available for locals to win in the build-up to the £175,000 race.
The lucky winners will gain entry for two adults and two children to finals night which gets underway from 4pm with a packed programme of family-friendly activities including live music, face painting and stilt walkers before racing begins at 6pm.
Finals night is set to be the jewel in greyhound racing’s crown with upwards of 4,000 racegoers expected trackside following five successive weekends of qualification where the Derby’s initial entry field has been cut from 192 greyhounds to just six.
Towcester Racecourse Managing Director Kevin Boothby said: “We are all aware of Roald Dahl’s classic novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where five children get the chance to visit his operation.
“Now Towcester’s gates are open following a period under lock and key only to be proceeded by the pandemic, we wanted to offer five lucky families the opportunity to be part of the biggest night on our calendar.
“Only five tickets have been printed by our team which will be distributed one at a time into the local community starting on Monday, June 26 – they could appear at any time so be sure to stay alert and follow our social media channels for a few clues.
“We’d like to wish all local residents the best of luck in their pursuit of a Golden Ticket, and we look forward to seeing you at Towcester Racecourse very soon.”
Favourite to win this year’s English Greyhound Derby is Irish trained Swords Rex, who remains unbeaten in this year’s competition ahead of Saturday’s semi-finals.
England meanwhile are represented by Patrick Janssens’ Romeo Command, who is also unbeaten having won his four qualification races to date.
Kevin added: “Everyone connected to greyhound racing dreams of owning a runner in the Derby.
“To reach the semi-finals is a serious achievement and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of nerves among connections entering this weekend. We’d like to wish all the hard-working trainers, kennel staff and the owners every success this weekend as we learn our 2023 finalists.”
Tickets for the Star Sports English Greyhound Derby Final are on sale now and available to purchase by clicking here. Adults are priced £33 while all children aged 14 and under go free.
ends
