Towcester boss Kevin Ackerman admits to be blown away by the response to the Derby. With four months to the July 1 final, the track has sold out its seven exec boxes (£225 per head) in its two grandstands and all 230 places (£150 per head) in its main restaurant.
Ackerman said: “I was always expecting them to go, but we haven’t really started the marketing yet. We advertised some final night tickets at a reduced cost and 500 have already been snapped up but we haven’t really been pushing anything at this stage.
“Overall, I would like to have a crowd of around 5,000 on final night and I am confident that we will get there. There have been various other ideas, for example to open an area up for camping for people to stay. I am open minded but it might be a stretch for our first year.
“We want to do everything well and learn from the experience and although we are prepared for some extra capacity, I am careful of having ample facilities to make it a positive experience. So we have already arranged for a marquee, which will be called the Westmead Hawk Pavilion and will positioned on the racecourse near the 500 traps. I am hoping to have a strong Hawk theme to it with lots of photos and memorabilia and we are hoping that Nick (Savva) will be available to chat to racegoers. It will hold a minimum of 200 people.
“We will also have a food village, plenty of bars and adequate toilet facilities with a celebrity DJ early in the evening and more music after racing.”
The third round and onwards will be covered by SKY Sports though as this stage, there are currently no plans for the Derby to be shown as part of the BAGS service.
