Newbury races braced for backlash as ‘Winter Wonderland’ carnival in middle of track appears to block view of horses

NEWBURY racecourse is braced for a backlash over a Winter Wonderland-style carnival in the middle of the track which appears to block punters’ views of the horses.

But bosses insist ‘none of the action will be missed’ and the attraction is crucial for finances.

A photo from the grandstand overlooking the course showed a huge Ferris wheel slap bang in the centre of the track.

Regular racegoers think the spectacle detracts from the track’s big Coral Gold Cup weekend, which kicks off on Friday.

One said the work carried out for the Great Christmas Carnival had created an ‘ugly eyesore’.

Turf in the centre of the racetrack has been dug up to create room for the rides and tents.

And there are fears the giant structures could prevent punters seeing the actual racing down the back straight.

Complaints had already flooded in earlier this month due to the lack of a big screen near the finish line during the carnival’s construction.

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The Great Christmas Carnival is ‘the south’s largest Christmas event’ according to its website.

It will feature an ice rink, Santa’s grotto, circus in the big top tent and over 20 rides and games for all ages, plus food and drink.

Those who buy tickets for the racing can enter for free.

But one punter said the preparations for the carnival had already created a ‘debacle’ at a raceday earlier this month.

Another said on Twitter: “I come for this meeting as my once-a-year pilgrimage.

“If I wanted to see a fun fair I would have gone to Alton Towers!”

Another labelled the whole thing a ‘very, very sad situation’.

One wrote: “Unbelievable. Bad enough to have three furlongs of straight obliterated by an unused stage in the summer, now this?”

While another said simply: “I despair!”

But Newbury bosses say the raceday product for regular punters won’t be diminished.

And at a time of falling attendances and cost of living crisis, new incentives to get people into racing have to be tried.

A Newbury racecourse spokesperson said: “This is a new event for all of us and given its scale and location we have invested in additional track side big screens and new camera positions to make sure none of the racing action will be missed.

“In these challenging times, racecourses such as ours have to be as commercial as possible and this event can make a positive contribution to our business to help us sustain the very best racing product and also offers all our raceday visitors great additional entertainment.”

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