Racing enthusiast John Henwood was at the starting gate of the Jersey Race Club’s 2026 season heralding some fixture changes which will be of benefit to all
Traditionally the opening race meeting of the season at Les Landes has been held on Easter Monday. Early Easters, accompanied by inclement weather and consequent unsafe conditions, have led to the fixture being abandoned in the past. This year, with Easter at the beginning of April, the Jersey Race Club was taking no chances and the first meeting took place on Sunday 26 April, in warm sunshine.
This has been welcomed by trainers, who have had an additional three weeks to get their charges ready. There is nothing like spring sunshine and some warmth to help racehorses shed their winter wooliness and put a shine on their coats.
This season will see some changes to the annual programme with three Friday evening mid-summer fixtures. These have proved popular with younger racegoers whom the race club is keen to encourage. One of the objectives in the club’s three-year plan is to engage better with young people and instil an appreciation of how enjoyable an afternoon or evening at the races can be.
One of the initiatives is the introduction of a concessionary annual membership rate for 18 to 30-year-olds from £190 to £135. Nine days racing with full membership benefits for £15 a meeting should prove attractive.
There are also plans for a Family Fun Day at the end of May with attractions for children. Some years ago, the late Neville Ahier would arrange a funfair with rides and all manner of entertainment, but the encroachment of new regulations and the heavy hand of the health and safety executive made the event non-viable. Now it’s hoped a new approach will revive the initiative and draw families with children of all ages.
Looking further ahead, among the Club’s ambitions is to hold a multi-day racing festival. The idea isn’t entirely new. Older local racegoers will remember each season ending with a two-day fixture on the Saturday and Monday of the late August Bank Holiday. The problem was always the shortage of horses with not all Saturday’s runners able to turn out again on the Monday. The longer-term plan is to generate enough interest to attract a level of sponsorship sufficient to draw international participation.
That is for the future. This year there are expected to be around 40 horses with local trainers, but horses from overseas will still be needed to ensure competitive racing. An innovation this year will be the introduction of a valuable race, perhaps worth as much as £10,000, on Champions’ Day, the last meeting of the season. Instead of making the race open to a one-time raider from overseas, the race conditions will require non-local horses to have run twice previously at Les Landes earlier in the season. The move should provide an incentive to raiders from the UK and elsewhere.
2026 Les Landes race dates:
Sunday 26 April – The Season Opener
Sunday 10 May – The Liberation Meeting
Saturday 30 May – Family Day
Friday 12June – Jersey St Leger (evening)
Friday 26 June – Champion Hurdle
Friday 10 July – The July Meeting
Sunday 26 July – Jersey Derby
Sunday 16 August – Ladies’ Day
Sunday 30 August – Champions’ Day
