Warwick to stage fantasy race after cancellation of VE Day fixture

Warwick racecourse had devised a novel way to raise funds for the British Legion despite the cancellation of its Victory in Europe raceday on Friday due to the suspension of racing in Britain.

Organisers hoped the fixture would be the centrepiece in the town's celebration of VE Day, which this year commemorates the 75th anniversary of the second world war ending in Europe. Their plans included a vast street party in the centre of the course.

Having been forced to cancel the meeting, the track will instead stage a VE Day-themed fantasy Champion Hurdle on its Facebook page from 7pm on Saturday to raise money for the British Legion.

Entry to the sweepstake costs £5 per person, with £3 donated to the charity and the rest divided among those who selected the winner.

"I'm pretty sure we'd have had a record attendance at the meeting," said Warwick general manager Andre Klein. "The whole community saw this as an opportunity to bring everybody together.

"I was chatting to one of the guys from the Royal British Legion and he said they were struggling due to a lack of fundraising activity. I came up with the idea of a fantasy race using archive footage from Warwick, known only to me, and my commentary over the top.

"All the horses have been given names related to VE Day and the local community have really got behind it. I just hope my commentary on the race is not too shameful now.

"If we can get back what the charity were hoping to make from the bucket collection at our meeting then I'll be happy. If we can raise half of what Captain Tom Moore raised then I'll be delighted!"

The coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on Warwick and it has already been forced to cancel seven fixtures, including its Ladies' Night meeting on Saturday, one of the season's highlights.

"This was a huge weekend for us," said Klein. "We are scheduled to race twice more in May so the cancellation of racing has hit us hard.

"We had a team of seven people plus casuals and we're down to myself and two members of ground staff. They're facing a big challenge as the track is in the middle of the town and is a popular destination for people taking exercise but they've done a great job."

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