Perth Festival 2018

Experience the fantastic Perth Festival atmosphere which is enjoyed not just by the racegoers but by the jockeys, trainers and owners too. There will be a huge amount of excitement in the Grandstand area as the crowd welcome in another year of first-class racing action to the UK’s most northerly racecourse.

The Festival gets underway on Wednesday 25^th April and the feature race is the EBF Stallions Gold Castle ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle – with £25,000 the prize for the winner. In 2016, Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins had his first winner at Perth in this very race and it often tempts some of the country’s finest trainers to have a runner. There is also a strong supporting card including a valuable handicap chase, and of course there is plenty going on around the Grandstand area on the first day of the friendly Festival.

Day two sees history made in Perth as the prize money for the race day hits £103,000 – the first time a meeting has ever been worth six-figures. Everyone will be in great spirits after the first day and the feature race is a handicap chase over two miles, four furlongs – with the winner of the race pocketing a very tasty £30,000 prize. Last year’s Thursday race day saw a 33/1 winner, so don’t just focus on the short-priced favourites when you’re having a flutter!

The party is really in full swing when it comes to Friday – the final day of the 2018 Perth Festival. Radio One DJ, Nick Grimshaw, will be there to entertain the crowd with a 90 minute set after the final race on the main stage as he comes to Perth for the first time. And, there is £100,000 of prize money to scoop on the day as well. The big money race is the Fair Maid of Perth Chase, sponsored by the Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and it’s the richest race ever staged in Perth with £30,000 up for grabs.

The other big race on the Friday of Perth Festival is the Highland National – a race in which Scottish trainers have a good record – and with £25,000 going to the winner it is sure to entice the top trainers to have a runner. In recent years, both Iain Jardine and Nick Alexander have trained winners in this race and there will be high hopes of another Scottish-trained winner in 2018.

It’s going to be a great start to what is shaping up to be the biggest season yet here at Perth. Book your tickets in advance to ensure you don’t miss out on what is going to be a huge party to kick off 2018 at Perth Racecourse!

Gates open at 12:00 daily and you can purchase tickets from Perth Racecourse's website here.