A Day at the Races

A Day at the Races - Peter Bartlett ARPS

I have been attending horse race meetings around the North of England for several years and, as an inveterate people watcher, have always been as fascinated by the crowds as I have been with the racing itself.

In the spring of 2019, I started a project designed to document spectators at race meetings and capture the colourful scene. Racegoers are an eclectic group. At one extreme there is the serious punter and, at the other, the casual visitor simply enjoying a day out. Some go to be seen as well as to see, the high-rollers, the young, the old and those in between, the wealthy and those less so, the countryset and the townies that just go to party. The mix of attendees is endless, creating a unique atmosphere within the spectator enclosures as people circulate between the stands, the betting ring, the bars, and the parade ring interacting and engaging with one another.

My original thinking had been to continue shooting throughout 2020 and into 2021. However, I didn’t know then that the carefree and fun atmosphere of a race meeting would be brought to a sudden stop by the onset of Covid-19.

Two attempts to run pilot race meetings with limited numbers of spectators, and tightly controlled social distancing arrangements, have foundered. For the foreseeable future, racing will continue behind closed doors, and a return to the relaxed and frivolous atmosphere witnessed at pre-pandemic race days is a long way off.

These images, all made in 2019, form the basis of a photobook that serves to document happier times and perhaps provide a marker of where I would like to return.

‘A Day at the Races’ is available direct from the publisher, ADM Publishing, and can be ordered from all good bookshops and major online retailers.

Website: www.peterbartlettimages.co.uk

Instagram: @peter.j.bartlett

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS

Peter Bartlett ARPS