It’s a landmark year for Ripon Racecourse as it prepares for its most important race of the season tomorrow.
With the city celebrating the 1,350th anniversary of the founding of Ripon Cathedral by patron saint Wilfrid, the Boroughbridge Road track will hold the race that has been run in his honour since 1839 and has been supported by bookmaker William Hill since 1994.
The William Hill Great St Wilfrid Handicap, run over six furlongs, has attracted a field of 15 sprinters from top yards — all vying for the winner’s prize of £51,540, with a further £48,460 going to the owners of the placed runners.
Jon Mullin, marketing and operations manager at the racecourse, told the Stray Ferret:
“This will be William Hill’s 29th year of sponsorship. It is by far their longest-standing sponsorship and is something we are really proud of.”
Horses at the finish line at Ripon Races. Picture: Steve Fareham/Geograph.
With the weather set fair, a large crowd is anticipated and Mr Mullin added:
“Advanced sales have been promising. The club enclosure sold out three weeks ago and we’re hoping plenty of people come along to enjoy a great afternoon of racing.”
While the Great St Wilfrid takes centre stage, the card also features the William Hill Hornblower Conditions Stakes. Both races will be shown live on ITV.
The track’s roots are firmly established in the ancient city and the link between course, tradition and custom will be apparent when a Ripon hornblower signals the start of the stakes race at 1.40pm.
Mr Mullin said:
“Families are always welcome and under 18s will be admitted free.”
The gates will be open from 11.30am.
Ripon’s annual St Wilfrid Procession under threat
A large annual parade that has taken place in Ripon for about 1,000 years is under threat.
Thousands of people turn out for St Wilfrid’s Procession, which celebrates the city’s patron saint.
The procession sees decorated floats travel around the city led by an actor playing St Wilfrid on a horse, followed by musicians, dancers and finally the Wakeman of Ripon.
There are also stalls and events on the Market Square for what is one of Ripon’s main events of the year.
The parade traditionally takes place on the last Saturday of July but covid prevented it taking place for the last two years.
Most funding comes from street collections on the day. But when the organising committee applied for a street collection permit for this year’s event, on July 30, it discovered Harrogate Borough Council had already granted a permit to another organisation — and only one a day is allowed.
The council told St Wilfrid’s Procession committee it was unable to reveal the identity of the other organisation because of data protection legislation.
This prompted the committee to put an appeal on social media asking for anyone who knew who it was to get in touch to see if a solution could be reached.
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A committee spokesman said:
“We want an open discussion with whoever has the permit to see if they are able to switch days.
“Without a permit, the procession won’t take place next year because most donations are made on the day from people who give to fundraisers with buckets.”
The spokesman stressed nobody was to blame for the “unfortunate coincidence” and the council was trying to help find a solution.
The Stray Ferret contacted the council but did not receive a reply.
Patron saint will come walking in as Ripon remembers Wilfrid
The covid pandemic has put paid to official celebrations in honour of Ripon’s patron saint, but St Wilfrid will still be represented on the city’s streets on Saturday.
The tradition, which goes back decades, is being kept alive in the hope that things will be back to normal next year.
Sue Simms, secretary of the St Wilfrid’s procession committee, said:
“Our unofficial St Wilfrid walk is going ahead.”
Actors playing the parts of the patron saint, his monks and followers, will leave from the Spa Gardens gates at 2pm.
The walkers will head for Market Place, North Road, Princess Road, Allhallowgate, Kirkgate, Bondgate, Harrogate Road and finish back at Market Place.
The gate at Spa Gardens, where St Wilfrid walkers will gather at 2pm on Saturday before their tour of the city.
Until 2019, St Wilfrid’s Day was one of the city’s biggest occasions of the year, marked by events and a large procession.
Thousands of people would, pre-pandemic, line the city streets and congregate on Market Square.
In addition to causing the cancellation of the 2020 event, the covid lockdowns also affected this year’s activities.
Organisers are looking to use Saturday’s walk as a platform to promote festivities for next year and beyond and will be handing out leaflets along the route.
As well as being the 1,350th anniversary of St Wilfrid founding a church on the site of Ripon Cathedral, 2022 marks the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
In May, Ms Simms told the Stray Ferret:
“We did not feel running a large-scale procession this year would be a responsible choice.
“The situation was complicated by the fact that we would have needed to start applying for road closures back in October.
“Because of the coronavirus crisis, we couldn’t plan ahead with any degree of confidence at that time.”
While there is no St Wilfrid’s Day procession dominating Ripon city centre this year, Market Square will be a hive of activity on both Saturday and Sunday.
Ripon City Council is staging Yorkshire Day Weekend activities on Market Square.
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These will include free children’s fairground rides, musical entertainment from 5.45pm on Saturday and a fireworks display.
On Sunday, there will also be an artisan Market starting at 10am on the square.