Preparations are at full pelt at Perth Racecourse with less than week to go until the start of the new season.
Almost £300,000 of prize money is up for grabs across the curtain-raising BetVictor Perth Festival.
At 11.30am on Wednesday gates will open for the first time this year, paving the way for three consecutive afternoons of competitive jump racing in front of thousands of racing fans.
The positive mood in Scottish racing has been elevated further by the success of Lucinda Russell’s Corach Rambler at Saturday’s Grand National at Aintree, providing the “perfect platform” for Perth to start its new season.
Matthew Taylor, director of racing at Perth Racecourse, can’t wait to get going.
He said: “We enhanced the Perth Festival with a couple of structural changes two years ago which means the first day features two Listed races and more than £100,000 in prize money which helps get us off to a flying start.
“We aim to continue that momentum over the following two days, with just shy of £300,000 up for grabs across the Festival, which we are really proud of.”
The racecourse has also been boosted by the arrival of a new title sponsor for the Festival, BetVictor, which adds another name to the growing list of multi-sector firms backing the Scone venue.
Matthew added: “We’re thrilled to welcome our new sponsor this year for what is now the BetVictor Perth Festival.
“BetVictor commit strong sponsorship across British racing throughout the year, notably at Newbury as well as the Go North Finals in Scotland, so we are very excited to have them on board and feel their brand is a great fit for Perth.
“It’s all shaping up to be a cracking few days building on the buzz from Aintree on Saturday and at Ayr this weekend.”
Perth Racecourse’s 2023 season opens on Wednesday with the first of three days of the BetVictor Perth Festival.
For more information and to book tickets, please visit the official racecourse website at www.perth-races.co.uk
