Chepstow-based Sarah Guest believes horse racing can provide a positive future for people working in the industry – at all levels. Guest – who lives just a mile from Chepstow Racecourse – has scooped two awards at the 2023 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, held at York Racecourse. Not only was she named Employee of the Year for her role as yard manager at trainer John O’Shea’s stables in Gloucestershire, but she also won the Leadership Award.

DragonBet on-course bookmaker James Lovell gives the inside track on Welsh sport – what’s hot, what’s not, and who’s the talk of the betting ring. They say Sunday is the day of rest. Well, after the second bad one in a row, it seems to be the day for DragonBet to take a good kicking! Perhaps it’s time to take up church!

Welsh pride, generosity, and a love for top sport will all be on show on Sunday, March 5 when Ffos Las Race Course hosts its Proud to be Welsh Raceday. On the weekend of the St. David’s Day week, the course will offer a chance to celebrate the best of Welsh music, culture and sport as well as an opportunity to support victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Alongside a variety of on-course entertainment, there will be collections and a charity auction – run by the Rotary Club – to raise funds for the Disaster Emergencies Committee Appeal.

DragonBet on-course bookmaker James Lovell gives the inside track on Welsh sport – what’s hot, what’s not, and who’s the talk of the betting ring. The sun has re-emerged on weekday afternoons, the days are getting longer, and the daffodils will soon be bursting into bloom. Yep, spring feels just around the corner and that means I’ve got Cheltenham on my mind. Where there’s spring and Cheltenham, there is hope. And I’m hoping to be a millionaire by the time the Festival is over.

By Graham Thomas David Prichard admits life has not changed beyond recognition just because he rode the winner at the Coral Welsh Grand National. But one month on at least he can look back on December’s sacrifices – like a “very meagre portion” of Christmas Day dinner – and reflect that it was all worthwhile. […]

After the eerily empty stands of the past two years, around 10,000 spectators are expected to be at Chepstow Racecourse on December 27 as the Coral Welsh Grand National is restored to its full-throated glory. Always one of the great days in Wales’ sporting calendar, the race was held in near silence last year, and again in 2020, due to Covid restrictions. But this year, the race – which dates back to 1895 when it was held at Ely Racecourse in Cardiff – will once again be played out in front of packed crowds, which creates a unique festive atmosphere.

By Graham Thomas Warren Gatland could be left regretting he didn’t become a racehorse owner if Gats And Co romps home to win the Coral Welsh Grand National next week. The horse – named after the returning Wales coach – is a 100/1 outsider with the bookies but Gatland has form when it comes to […]

Welsh horse racing has been backed to provide a major economic impact over the next year, despite the difficult financial outlook. The success of race meetings held across Wales, along with individual achievements by owners, trainers and jockeys based in Wales has been highlighted by a group of Senedd members in Cardiff Bay. They heard from representatives of the Cross Party Group on Horse Racing who have stressed the vital importance of the industry.

Sean Bowen has underlined his status as one the UK’s top jockeys by winning the National Hunt Jockey of the Year prize at the annual Welsh Horse Racing Awards. The 25-year-old – who is enjoying a highly successful season – picked up the award in recognition of an outstanding year during which he has ridden 116 winners at a strike rate of 21%. That has put Bowen second in the current race to be champion jockey, with the Pembrokeshire rider having amassed 67 winners so far this season, behind only Irishman Brian Hughes.

Evan Williams and his family enjoy the summer, but not as much as the winter and the jump season when, as he puts it, “the mud is flying, and the days are short, and the flowers have died.” That’s poetry. And there’s more. “That’s when we really come alive,” says the trainer. “And it will be good to get back amongst it.”

By Harry Corish The results are in from the Royal Ascot Charity Day at Chepstow Racecourse and this year the event raised a remarkable £72,000 for the Noah’s Ark Charity. In the midst of economic problems and rising costs, it’s an eye-catching achievement that once again highlights the success charities can achieve when they link […]

By Graham Thomas Heroes of a different kind will be honoured at Chepstow Race Course later this year. As well as the normal parade of winning horses and their jockeys, the course will salute both serving and former members of the military with the inaugural Chepstow Military Race Day. The event – on November 18 […]

By Graham Thomas Bernard Llewellyn has urged race-goers to support the Brain Tumour Research race day at Chepstow on Friday 10th June, aimed at raising awareness and funds to combat the illness. The event is being held in memory of the trainer’s son Gwilym Llewellyn, who died after a very short illness just over a […]

Ukrainian refugee Svetlana Osiptsova will be guest of honour at Ffos Las Racecourse this week – in recognition of her incredible story of courage and solidarity with those in her homeland. The speech therapist and her 16-year-old daughter Sofia are among the more than 1,100 Ukranians who have fled the war and settled in Wales since March. Leaving behind her husband, Alexander – an ambulanceman – in their home city of Mykolaiv, Svetlana and Sofia arrived in Wales on April 11.

By Graham Thomas David Brace has already fulfilled plenty of sporting ambitions and now he’s looking ahead to witnessing those of his grandchildren. The race horse owner, breeder and trainer knows there are any number of hurdles that must be overcome before the winning post, but that doesn’t stop him dreaming. One vision for Brace […]

No sport was hit harder by the Covid pandemic than horse racing, where empty courses and cancelled meetings are estimated to have cost £450 million in lost income. But Kevin Hire – the recently appointed general manager at Ffos Las Racecourse – reckons the sport is fighting back and has bold plans for the future, as he tells Graham Thomas. Kevin Hire carries a vision in his head of what a perfect day’s racing looks like from his perspective. The new general manager at Ffos Las wants racegoers – both new and old – to leave the course with a smile of satisfaction and an intention to come back for more.

Jockey Ben Jones has admitted he only knew he had reached 100 career wins because his father Dai told him! Jones Jnr recently celebrated the career milestone when he rode Beau Haze to victory at Chepstow to give him his 37th win of the season. But the 22-year-old might not have spotted the looming century mark had Dai – Clerk of the Course at Ffos Las Racecourse – not kept a close eye on the rising tally for the young Welsh rider.

Students who took charge of Ffos Las for race day in a ground-breaking collaboration have been congratulated on a job well done. The group helped manage the entire operation for the Match 23 meeting, working across a variety of roles from general manager to organising kitchen staff. Working alongside new Ffos Las general manager Kevin Hire, the tourism and events students from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in to help produce a memorable day’s racing for the public in glorious early spring sunshine.

Adam Wedge celebrated a notable Welsh double at Cheltenham by paying tribute to trainer Evan Williams. Welsh jockey Wedge provided one of the highlights of day three of the Festival when he won the Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase on Coole Cody – providing another triumph for Welsh trainer Williams. The 22-1 shot won the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham for Williams in 2020 and might have won it again this year but for a fall two fences out.

Welsh trainer Rebecca Curtis hopes Lisnagar Oscar will be doing more than simply sending a signal of support for the people of Ukraine, when he runs at Cheltenham on Thursday. The horse and Welsh jockey Adam Wedge will cut striking figures at the Festival as they will be wearing the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. Jockeys have been wearing armbands in those national colours at Cheltenham to show their support for the Ukrainian people, who are suffering a humanitarian crisis following the Russian invasion of their country.