Colts and Fillies members enjoyed a festive treat before racing at our special brunch with guests Father Christmas and Scotty.  A delicious brunch was available for the children to enjoy and they made some truly spectacular Christmas decorations to take home.  Father Christmas and Scotty popped by and we were delighted to hear that all the children at the brunch had been good this year so they each received a special early Christmas gift.

Out on the track we saw some wonderful Jumps racing with the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle being won by the Paul Nicholls trained Big Bucks which took his unbeaten sequence to 14 races.

Away from the track the children wrapped up warm for some festive fun on the bandstand lawns.  There were fairground rides to enjoy, an ice skating rink to take a twirl around, Santa’s Grotto to visit, Santa’s Reindeer to meet and some Christmas Story telling from the Bandstand.

The day ended with a Christmas Carol Concert in the Grandstand with lots of Christmas cheer and audience participation. 

Ascot's first meeting of the new 2011/2012 Jumps season was great fun for our Colts and Fillies members. There were seven races to enjoy during the afternoon and Exmoor Ranger took the £100,000 United House Gold Cup for trainer Victor Dartnell. Winning Jockey Andrew Glassonbury said “It was great.  I ride most of my winners at Taunton and Plumpton, so to come and ride a winner here is brilliant.”

Down on the plaza lawns there was a distinctly spooky feel with entertainment from Uncle Doom and his Organ of Doom, Baron Von Grindle rising from the dead, the resident Ascot wicked witch, a ghost house and horror themed face painting.  Everyone had got into the Halloween spirit and there were witches, mummies, ghosts and ghouls enjoying the fairground rides.

After racing over 100 Colts and Fillies members attended our spooky Halloween BBQ and enjoyed games and a magic show. It was great to see so many of the members in fancy dress and it was a tough decision deciding who to award 1st, 2nd and 3rd in our fancy dress competition.

The evening highlight was a charity firework spectacular in association with Ascot Round Table.  Everyone gathered in the grandstand with candy floss and toffee apples to watch the fantastic fireworks which was a great finish to our family fun day.

Over 30,000 people flocked to Ascot for a fantastic day of racing which saw Ireland lift the Shergar Cup for the third year running.  Ireland had to wait for a 1, 2 in the final race to take the lead from the Great Britain and Rest of the World Teams which made for a very exciting finish to the competition.

For the early arrivals there was the opportunity to join the Colts & Fillies exclusive behind the scenes tour and experience the areas not open to the public while gaining an insight into how they work.  Shortly after the tour a group of Colts and Fillies members buried a time capsule in the Parade ring to mark Ascot’s 300th Anniversary.  It was filled with items suggested by the members and they hope these will be exciting for future Colts and Fillies members to see when they celebrate Ascot’s 400th birthday!

Between races there was plenty to keep the children entertained with exciting fairground rides to enjoy and a number of climbing walls where they could put their stamina to the test.  For the younger children there were gentler rides and a soft play area.  Throughout the afternoon there were extreme BMX performances and the urban sports display showcased a medley of skateboarding, Break Dancing and Inline Skating between workshops were the children could have a go themselves.

During the day 300 Colts and Fillies Members signed up for a balloon in our tercentenary balloon release, the 300 balloons were spectacularly released after racing and the balloon that travels the furthest will win a table for four at our Christmas Meeting and a fabulous goody bag from Dubai Duty Free.

After racing everyone headed over to the Old Paddock for the 80s concert which featured the ‘Here & Now’ Tour. Everyone sung along to classic 80’s hits from Jason Donovan, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Jimmy Somerville, Paul Young, Toyah, China Crisis, Odyssey, Altered Images, Brother Beyond and Visage. The atmosphere was fantastic and the concert marked the end of another exciting family fun day at Ascot.

The day dawned bright and clear and over 4000 children headed to Ascot for a fun packed day.  To start a number of Colts and Fillies’ members attended a birthday party to celebrate Ascot’s 300th Birthday.  The celebrations started with the launch of the Colts and Fillies Flag which was designed by Colts and Fillies’ member Abigail Tacon.  The children then enjoyed story telling with Peppa Pig and George before enjoying a party lunch followed by a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday and a delicious cupcake.  After lunch the children were entertained with magic, jokes and party games with prizes for everyone.

Some members went on the Colt’s & Fillies tour giving them an exclusive look behind the scenes of Ascot Racecourse. They got the chance to look in the jockeys changing room, see where they get weighed before a race (and have a go themselves!), ring the bell in the Parade Ring and take a look at what Premier Admission has to offer on level four of the Grandstand!   

During the day the children were able to meet Peppa Pig and her brother George, Ben & Holly from their Little Kingdom, Scooby Doo and Fireman Sam.  Fireman Sam bought along a real fire engine and Peppa Pig and George entertained the children with story-telling in the bandstand.  There was also face painting, fairground rides and a bouncy castle/soft play area to enjoy.

The children’s entertainment, great weather and spectacular racing action resulted in a fabulous fun day out that the whole family could enjoy.

Our first family day of 2011 was great fun for the Colts and Fillies members and they were kept busy throughout the day with a wide range of entertainment. It also saw the second running of the Colts and Fillies Maiden Hurdle, our sponsored race. Before Racing started there was a charity race for Masters of the Hunt, with Fran Bell on Faithful Ruler lifting the trophy, and a host of entertainment on the plaza lawns. The children enjoyed meeting the animals at the family farm, winning a scrumptious egg in the Easter Egg hunt and participating in climbing activities and quad biking. Those with a steady hand also had fun at the shooting gallery. Our race was the first of the day and was won by Robert (Choc) Thornton on the Alan King trained Invictus. The Colts and Fillies club was represented by members Emma Sainsbury and Nikki Keen who won the competition to judge the best turned out horse and present the prizes. The girls and their families experienced being a race sponsor at Ascot and did a tremendous job representing the club. Racing continued in the beautiful sunshine throughout the afternoon and the children were able to enjoy a parade of hounds, displays of falconry, working dogs, terrier racing, and much more in the main display arena. A well deserved ice-cream and a stroll around the country shopping stalls rounded off an enjoyable action packed day.