Newmarket July Racecourse gives 100-year-old the chance to meet three Classic-winning jockeys in birthday celebration
A 100-year-old with a lifetime love of racing and a farm built on the proceeds of a 66-1 winning bet celebrated her centenary at the Newmarket’s July Racecourse
Betty Veal, who turned 100 last month, was given the chance to meet three Classic-winning jockeys as part of a special present while attending the Roaring Twenties race day.
Betty was introduced to Richard Kingscote, rider of Desert Crown, winner of this year’s Cazoo Derby, and fellow top jockeys Will Buick and Andrea Atzeni, in the parade ring ahead of the Turners Handicap, after being presented with a special birthday cake.
“I was brought up on a farm and my father had horses,” she said. “Once you love a horse you love them for the rest of your life.
“My late husband Jim used to come here quite often. Newmarket is our favourite track and my husband would leave his work to come racing at Newmarket. I have so many memories of it.”
And reflecting on some of those memories Betty recalled the day her husband backed a 66-1 winner the winnings from which helped get their farm at Little Thetford up and running.
“He came racing to Newmarket one day and put a bet on a horse called Riding Mill at 66-1 and it came first. He came home with the money and bought himself a sow,” she said.
“It had 12 piglets on Christmas day and I was there when the pigs were delivered and that started our farm off. It was wonderful. He always had a bet and his father loved racing.”
She added: “My father’s horses were his pride and joy. We didn’t have tractors on the farm and we used the pony and trap to go to Ely market.
“When we had the farm the people who took the horses and ploughs out onto the field used to put me on the back of a horse. That was the first time I sat on a horse and I was about three.”
Remembering the business she built with her husband, Betty said: “We moved on from pigs to chickens and from our farm we ran a business called Cambridgeshire Poultry Packers. We delivered poultry all over the country, not just Cambridgeshire, so I came here twice a week, for years and years, so the town is like my second home.”
While the occasion was one to remember for Betty, it was also a special moment for current Flat jockeys’ championship leader, Will Buick, who secured victory in the last race on the card on the Roger and Harry Charlton-trained Ashky to complete a double on the card.
