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Hundreds of children swap school for racecourse

BBC Big crowd of school students standing on Cheltenham racecourse, surrounding jockey Daryl Jacobs who has his arm in a sling. They are all smiling and cheering. Some of the children are wearing high-vis vests over their coats. BBC
Year 5 students from seven Gloucestershire schools toured Cheltenham Racecourse with jockey Daryl Jacobs

Hundreds of school children have been given an insight into the world of horse racing by two of the sport's famous faces.

Cheltenham Racecourse opened its doors to 300 children ahead of one of the biggest events of the racing calendar, the November Meeting, which is held from Friday to Sunday.

The children walked the track led by current and former jockeys, including Grand National winner Daryl Jacob and Gold Cup winner Mick Fitzgerald.

Rosie, from Saint John's Primary School, in Cheltenham, said she would "come back to the racecourse everyday" if she could, adding: "It's just so magical."

Jockey Daryl Jacobs is standing in front of a group of school children on the track at Cheltenham Racecourse. He is wearing a navy coat. The children are stood opposite him and listening to his stories. Cheltenham Racecourse grandstand is in the distance in the background.
Jockey Daryl Jacobs explained the different types of jumps at Cheltenham Racecourse

The children had the chance to get up close to the famous Gold Cup and fed carrots to an ex-racehorse.

Jockey Daryl Jacobs recently celebrated 1,000 wins, 50 of which were achieved at Cheltenham Racecourse.

He shared stories with the children, telling them "there is no feeling in the world like winning at Cheltenham".

Mr Jacobs said it was great to see the children so "engaged and enthusiastic".

The Year 5 students came from local schools including Oakwood, Dunalley, Saint John's, Swindon Village, Woodmancote, Gloucester and Hester Way primary schools.

Frank, from Saint John's, said: "The best thing was learning about how many bones they [the jockeys] have broken, they don't care about their bones, they just care about having fun."

Two school children, one girl with blonde hair and one boy with short brown hair and glasses, are wearing royal blue jumpers and yellow polo tops. They are standing in front of the parade ring at Cheltenham Racecourse. They are both smiling.
Rosie and Frank from Saint John's Primary School said the day was "magical"

Assistant general manager at Cheltenham Racecourse, Andre Klein, said the day was "all about engaging younger fans in racing" and helping them develop an "appreciation of the sport".

Mr Klein added he wished he had had similar opportunities when he was at school.

"If anyone had turned around to me and said 'you can come and walk around a race track on a Monday morning', I would have jumped at it and that is exactly what the kids have done," he said.

"It's absolutely about engaging fans but, even if they don't become fans, having an appreciation for the sport, is just as important."

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