York Races: Sun and Rain, Stag and Hen

The two biggest complaints I hear from York residents about the city are the problems caused by the number of stag and hen parties that come drinking for the night and the York horse racing meetings. As a new resident, venturing into the city centre can be intimidating at the weekend, with large groups of alcohol-fuelled, pre-wedding parties dressed as anything from prom queens to chimney sweeps who have travelled from all over the north of England. It is loud, lewd and can turn violent on occasions (although most arrests are for nuisance behaviour) and for a city as small as York this inevitably causes problems for the residents. However, the race meetings are vital to the economy of the ancient city. Keeping the balance between economic necessities, resident’s safety and maintaining a reputation as one of England’s most historic cities is a challenge. York Press comments page: DooftheDog 20th June 2015 8:58 am 'I usually go into town on a Saturday morning when it's reasonably quiet. We arrived about 1pm a couple of weekends ago for the food festival and were astounded by the number of hen & stag parties around. One large group was walking over Lendal bridge and throwing around a blow up doll.' York Press comments page. laguna71 20th June 2015 1:04 pm 'York, the safest city in the world, thats what we were told. Stop blaming racegoers, hen parties and stag nights. In and around York there are scum. Every day there are reports of muggings, assaults, violent behaviour, assaults on tourists and the other day a girl was mugged for her shoes. York is no different from anywhere else.' There are 17 race meetings at the racecourse over the summer, which has a capacity of 60,000 people, and attracts around 350,000 each year. Around 1 in 20 will stay overnight. The population of York is around 198,000. In 2009 a study showed the races generated around £58 million and supported around 1350 full-time jobs. It is the third largest racecourse in Britain. There are 17 eateries including 6 restaurants and 22 bars on-site. The races are an attractive and vibrant starting point for the stag and hen parties before continuing into the city centre early evening. Most of the images were taken in the cheaper Grandstand where the atmosphere was dynamic and festive compared the the more decorous and mannerly County Stand.