New Dates for National Racehorse Week in 2025

[Wandering Eyes]

Great British Racing (GBR)'s National Racehorse Week has been confirmed to return for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, with different dates set to be trialled in an attempt to give the event a new focus.

This year National Racehorse Week is scheduled for August 23-31, which means it will fall squarely in the school and university holiday period and will include the August Bank Holiday weekend. The decision to move the dates was reached after statistics showed that just under a fifth of open day attendees last year were under the age of 18, with events across the two weekends booking up well in advance.

It is hoped that shifting the entire event to August, from its traditional slot during the second week in September, will open up all nine days of National Racehorse Week to families and a younger age demographic.

Gabi Whitfield, head of welfare communications at GBR, said, “For the past four years racing has provided an incredible opportunity for people to get close to, and be inspired by, the Thoroughbred at the heart of the sport. And we see first-hand the positive impact this has on people's opinion of welfare in racing. No other top-tier sport throws open its doors to the public for free the way we do.

“But it's time to evolve the concept and to see how we can use National Racehorse Week to attract more families and younger people to take their first steps into our world. We've had great feedback from across the sport around the opportunities this move of date will create.”

Originally the brainchild of trainer Richard Phillips, National Racehorse Week has seen 120 training yards, studs and retraining centres take part every year. Since its inception in 2021, it has created over 50,000 free places for people to experience the lives of racehorses, get closer to the Thoroughbred, and meet the people who dedicate their lives to their care and welfare.

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