After The Show Is Over

After two fantastic days racing at Cartmel, many people have asked me, “What happens next on the racecourse?”

Well the clear-up starts straight away and, while we always try to get the park back into shape as quickly as possible, the village will be visited by the judges of Britain in Bloom next week – so we want to be doubly sure that the racecourse is as tidy as possible. 

A dedicated team of casual staff, including local families and members of the Cartmel Cricket Club, collect in the region of 17 tonnes of rubbish. The waste is collated and removed from site by Wicks Waste Management Services, who ensure that 100% of it is recycled. Glass, plastic, cardboard and metal are sorted for re-processing. The rest is treated and converted to “refuse derived fuel” – not sold yet in Britain, but usually exported to Holland for use on the continent. 

This weekend the racecourse will be hired by the local Pony Club for an annual event, while members of the Lakeland Caravan Club will be staging a rally to coincide with the Steam Gathering on Cark Airfield. That’s assuming that we can get all the marquees down in time; it’s a tight turn-around. 

Next week we’ll be hosting the Sunflower Ball, in the Louis Roederer Restaurant on the first floor of the Grandstand, for St Mary’s Hospice. The Grandstand is available throughout the year for weddings, private functions and corporate events. And following that, it’s the Cartmel Agricultural Show on Wednesday 7^th August. 

The divots left by the horse’s hooves have already been neatly forked back into place and this week’s rain has helped to stimulate the grass to grow in preparation for the August Bank Holiday Meeting; all of which will please our Clerk of the Course, Anthea Morshead, who is supervising the action at York on Saturday. She isn’t allowed to have a bet – but you can…  I’d suggest  Mukhadram in the York Stakes at 2.55pm. 

Between watching races during the afternoon, I’ll be spending some time in the garden. Regular readers will be aware of the failed asparagus crop – I’m delighted to report that the fine weather has brought compensation in the form of delicious strawberries, redcurrants and gooseberries.