Ripon racecourse will stage its first fixture of the 2021 season next week.
As with all meetings at the Boroughbridge Road track in 2020, the first fixtures on 15 and 24 April and 7 and 16 May will be behind closed doors.
With the subsequent easing of covid lockdown measures, the first racegoers will be allowed through the gates from 27 May.
Jonathan Mullin, marketing manager for Ripon Races, told the Stray Ferret:
“A maximum of 4,000 racegoers will be allowed on these dates and people wanting to attend must book in advance.
“We still have a limited number of paddock tickets available for 27 May, the evening meetings on 2 and 16 June and the afternoon meeting on our ladies day of 17 June.”
The first fixture is next week, but will be behind closed doors
Ticket sales are currently suspended for the remaining nine fixtures between 5 July and 25 September.
With the government’s roadmap moving towards a lifting of all covid restrictions on 21 June, Mr Mullin said:
“We are waiting to see what happens before tickets go on sale for these fixtures.”
Updates will be available on the website ripon-races.co.uk and on Facebook.
In a normal year, the track, known as ‘Yorkshire’s garden racecourse’ because of its floral splendour, attracts thousands of people through its gates.
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The highlight of Ripon racing calendar is the Great St Wilfrid Stakes in August.
Covid vaccinations taking place at the course do not clash with race days.
Woman gets first covid vaccine at Ripon racecourseA 73-year-old woman became the first person to be inoculated at Ripon’s new vaccination centre yesterday.
Snow delayed the opening until 1.30pm when a steady stream of people began to arrive.
The first was Maureen Lambden, from Ripon, who described the experience as “fantastic”. She said she was “very, very grateful” to receive the vaccine.
The centre is being staffed by doctors and nurses from local GP surgeries.
Volunteer marshals, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the racecourse’s own team are also on site helping.
Ripon’s testing centre has the capacity to vaccinate between 500 and 600 people at the racecourse daily.
It is thought the centre will open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but a press briefing today of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, the organisation that represents agencies leading the county’s response to covid, heard opening times will depend on vaccine supply.
Dr Richard Fletcher, from Dr Ingram and Partners in Ripon and clinical director of Ripon and Masham Primary Care Network, said:
“We’re grateful to Ripon racecourse for stepping forward to offer their site for this, as it solves many of the problems presented by other locations.
“It is another significant step in increasing coverage in the region.”
Read more:
- Ripon’s covid vaccine centre opens to the public.
- Pateley Bridge man thanks the team at Harrogate’s new vaccination centre.
Snow fears close Harrogate and Ripon vaccination sites tomorrow
Tomorrow morning’s vaccinations at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate and Ripon racecourse have been postponed due to the snow forecast.
North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said today people with appointments scheduled between 8am and 12.45pm will be contacted and booked in at the next available time.
However, appointments due for tomorrow afternoon are still due to go ahead as planned.
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- Harrogate people don’t have to travel to York for vaccine, say health bosses
- Harrogate district on track to achieve February 15 vaccine deadline
The Ripon site is due to open this week.
Health bosses said the decision was taken in the interests of patient safety.
A statement from the CCG said:
“GP practices in the Harrogate district are currently in the process of contacting all affected patients directly and will be booking those patients in to the next available clinics.”
A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is currently in place for the district between 10pm tonight and 11.59pm tomorrow, according to the Met Office.
Vaccination site to be opened at Ripon racecourseA vaccination site will be set up at Ripon racecourse, health bosses revealed this morning.
Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for NHS North Yorkshire CCG, told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing the site will open next week.
No further details are available yet.
Jonathan Mullin, marketing manager at Ripon Races, told the Stray Ferret vaccinations would take place on separate days to race days and the course’s fixtures were unaffected by the news.
Ripon Races has 15 fixtures scheduled this year, starting on April 15.
Meetings took place behind closed doors last year and there is still no news on when people may be allowed to attend.
Last week Ripon City Council called for the city to get its own vaccination site and suggested the Hugh Ripley Hall would be a suitable location.
Days later, the Local Resilience Forum confirmed it intended to open a site in Ripon but hadn’t identified a location. Today it confirmed the racecourse had been chosen.
Health bosses also revealed at the meeting that 107,752 vaccinations have been carried out across North Yorkshire and York since the programme started in December.
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