Rainy days hit course income

The late May Bank Holiday meeting and the ladies' evening in August were both similarly affected and course general manager Philip Bell estimates it lost around 40,000 as a result.

The crowd at the recent Sussex Grand National meeting was around 3,000 but without the rain more than 4,000 would have turned out.

Even so, crowd figures were respectable on the day, a tribute to the good condition of the course and enthusiasm of regular racegoers there.

The big race itself produced an unexpected winner in the 16-1 shot Finzi, trained by Michael Scudamore, which beat the favourite, Dun Drinan, into third place. For owner Eddie Moss it was a memorable moment and compensated for his loss of Harbour Point in a fall at the same track two years ago.

For full story see West Sussex Gazette November 28