IT’S THE richest day in racing, and it’s also a popular day for entertainment.
Next month, Ascot Racecourse is bringing its British Flat racing season to a close with QIPCO British Champions Day. Leading the after party will be one of the biggest-selling dance acts in the country, Groove Armada.
The electronic music duo, Andy Cato and Tom Findlay, have achieved chart success with singles such as Superstylin, At the River and I See You Baby.
They follow in the footsteps of the likes of George Ezra, Basement Jaxx, Ella Eyre and Jax Jones in being the centrepiece of QIPCO British Champions Day’s post-racing celebrations.
The duo met in London in the mid-1990s and created their first album, Northern Star, in 1998 in the space of a week, leading to major label recognition and their first album with Jive Records, Vertigo, sold more than a million copies.
Four albums later and in partnership with big record labels such as Sony and BMG, they have received several Grammy and Brit nominations and have sold out gigs from Jakarta to Moscow and Sydney.
Together as Groove Armada and also individually, the pair have taken part in Late Night Tales, an artist-curated compilation series of all time that invites the world’s best artists to delve deep into their music collections to create the ultimate “late night” selection.
The event on Saturday, October 21, will be extra special, as it will bring the curtain down on Frankie Dettori’s riding career, and there is more than £4 million in prize money up for grabs. Aside from Dettori’s European swansong, there will be a whole host of activity, including a Fan Zone area for families and children, and a Jockey School with masterclasses from leading jockeys such as Hollie Doyle, Tom Marquand and Oisin Murphy.
There will also be several presentations to mark the end of the British Flat racing season, among them the likes of the Champion Flat Jockey and two inductions into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame.
Some sections of the racecourse have already sold out, and prices start from £37, with accompanied under 18s getting in free.
For more details, log on to: britishchampionsday.com
