Folkestone Racecourse Remembered

As we creep nearer to the tenth anniversary of the closure of Folkestone Racecourse, I have been looking back at some of the lovely letters I received and the varied tasks I used to do in my role as Racecourse Manager.  

From painting skirting boards, organising space hopper races on Family Days, walking the track, doing the going stick readings in heels (I definitely mastered that),  managing events (including being the wedding coordinator) - I even managed a few racedays and weddings on the same day, which was no mean feat. I had overall operational control on a raceday alongside the Clerk, who looked after the racing side. I organised and oversaw racing and music events, hospitality and sold race sponsorship amongst other things.

We hosted two military officers Mess dinners which we needed run with the usual military precision. That was one of the proudest moments during my time at Folkestone, as the team knew they were losing their jobs a couple of months later, but still worked hard and ran the events as if their life depended on it.

I always find it really interesting to read what my top three endorsements on LinkedIn are, as the top endorsement is Event Management, followed by Marketing and then what I do now, and have done for eighteen years: Sponsorship.   I carried out the first two of these for at least 10 years in racing, and I guess people still remember that period of my career quite well.  We held some great events and produced some innovative marketing campaigns at the time.

Folkestone Racecourse was the place that I learnt the most; from estate management, detailed P and L and budgeting skills (courtesy of being part of a PLC), and that you always need a good team around you to make such a varied business work on all levels.   Your team need to trust in your ability and work together in harmony.  We had that; we had a happy team. You never stop learning and I love learning new things; the racecourse environment allowed me to do that.

Folkestone was not just a racecourse,  it was some of the team’s life.  One of the team members had worked there 33 years when it closed. The racecourse was an event space, a school to Life Church School when Folkestone had the earthquake and theirs was damaged.  We even passed an Ofsted Inspection as a temporary school. It was people’s homes; we had several private lets on the estate.

Folkestone was a dual purpose course; the flat far warmer than the jumps season.  The winters could be really cold at Folkestone and quite often we would go home after racing to thaw out.  One raceday it rained so much my red jacket turned my white shirt pink!

I will never forget the good times at Folkestone and even the hard times weren't so hard with the amazing team we had. On one occasion, one of the broadcast trucks caught fire and our safety officer Steve, raced into the weighing room to get a fire extinguisher and then proceeded to put the fire out without anyone really knowing there was a problem. Nothing was ever a drama

My role took me to Pompadour in France every year, as we had twinned with the French Racecourse in 2007.  From there I was invited by France Galop to go to Martinique on racing trips seven times, as well as several invites to Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. I stood on top of the grandstand roof and watched Sea The Stars win. Standing on the top of the grandstand roof wasn’t something that many people got to do, but I got to know many of the French racing officials throughout my time in racing.

I ran a full marathon around the track at Folkestone (23.5 laps) on my own before a raceday to raise money for our Armed Forces Raceday which was being held on the same day. The Sun newspaper and Claude Duval got behind me and helped promote the run in their main newspaper.  It was a long day followed by six races and a music night that took us up to midnight. I must have been mad, but I loved every minute of it. 

My dog came to work with me every day apart from racedays.  He loved coming to work and the staff loved making a fuss of him and making him tea.  He was great on dark nights when we left the track, as he was a big lump and did scare a few undesirables away when it was dark, even if he was a gentle giant.

I set up a racing syndicate as a little bit of fun and chose the horse using what my grandad taught me to look for in a horse.  That horse, Stone of Folca, has been in the Guinness Book of records as the fastest horse in the world for the last 10 years.  Something I am very proud of – I only wish my grandad was around to have seen it.

2012 was a year to remember for sure – Stone Of Folca made history, sadly my dog died and then came one of the hardest days of my career saying goodbye to such a lovely, dedicated team on the last day and a place we all could have easily called home.  It was a sunny day and I shed a little tear as I drove down the drive on the last day.   I will always remember that lonely drive away from a career I loved so much.