Record crowds brave wind and rain to enjoy Tom Jones concert after the Weatherbys Super Sprint Day at Newbury Racecourse

Constant rain and planned rail strikes didn’t stop almost 19,000 racegoers from attending the Weatherbys Super Sprint Day and Tom Jones concert at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday (July 22).

It was the highest attendance at a race day since the start of the pandemic, a fact the terrible weather couldn’t even put a damper on.

All the exciting action on the race track was complemented afterwards by a headline concert performance from Welsh superstar Tom Jones.

The 83-year-old pop singer pleased the crowd with performances of classics such as Sexbomb, What’s New Pussycat? and Green Green Grass of Home.

Newbury Racecourse chief executive Julian Thick said on the day: “It was brilliant to welcome such a big crowd to Newbury Racecourse today.

“Despite the weather and rail strike, racegoers turned out in their thousands and were in excellent spirits for what is always a memorable day.

“We look forward to our next big Saturday meeting—BetVictor Hungerford Day with Olly Murs on Saturday 19th August—and welcoming yet more racegoers throughout the remainder of 2023.”

On the track it proved to be a very successful day for jockey Tom Marquand who enjoyed a treble and landed the feature race of the day, the Weatherbys Super Sprint with Relief Rally, trained by William Haggas – who also had a double on the day.

Commanche Falls landed the Group 3 bet365 Hackwood Stakes for the Michael Dods team under a masterful ride by Connor Beasley.