Midsummer Madness

In Austria, fantastically decorated ships parade down the Danube to the accompaniment of fireworks; in Poland young people jump through flaming bonfires; in Britain we eat strawberries, read plays by William Shakespeare and dream about love – because as the entire World knows: Midsummer is a time for magic.  

The Summer Solstice occurs when the northern hemisphere is tilted as far towards the Sun as it will go. Between 20^th June and 25^th June the days are at their longest and the period has long been celebrated for a host of different reasons. Is it coincidence, for example, that while the Slavic nations are performing fertility rites at the end of the third week in June, we are making cups of tea on, what we call, Fathers Day?  

Despite some warm spells in May, we’ve had a curiously slow Spring and early Summer. This time last year, I was able to pluck a rose from the garden to wear in my buttonhole at Royal Ascot - even though it wilted horribly before the second race had been run. This year the roses are barely even budding, but we still have a terrific display of foxgloves… 

Which is handy because, as everyone knows, the flowers of the foxglove make an excellent hiding place for fairies – and fairies are very busy at this time of year. In the woods near Athens, they are frantically helping young couples to fall in love; here at Cartmel they are assisting in preparations for the races on Friday 26^th and Sunday 28^th June. 

The ticket fairies are particularly hectic just now – packing up the admission-badges and putting them in the post-box. The chief ticket-fairy has asked me to remind you that the deadline for advance bookings closes at midnight on Sunday 21^st June. There will of course be tickets available on the day too – but the advance ones are a little bit cheaper and come packed with a sprinkling of magical fairy dust which will help you to find winners. 

The fairies have also been at work in the offices at Racing UK – befuddling the executives to such an extent that they are promoting a completely crazy deal: Sign up as a new customer before 20^th June – and they will give you a free trial for one month.

Google the offer online now (or call 0845 111 6444 and quote RUK1MF); you’ll be able to watch the end of the Royal Ascot meeting (look out for Teak, a previous winner at Cartmel and our selection for the Queen Alexandra Stakes on Saturday), our two-day June meeting, plus our 2-day July meeting, absolutely free of charge.

There’s loads of other stuff too: tips, trends, news and reviews; so when you’ve enjoyed all the magic of an (almost) midsummer day at Cartmel races, you can watch the highlights again when you get home – and thank the fairies (and / or the Racing UK pundits) for helping you to beat the bookies.