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2003
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WELCOME TO THE FOOTBALL MASCOT SCRAPBOOK NEWS SECTION |
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2003
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On the one day of the year where mascots rule the roost Huntingdon hosted the 5th Ladbrokes British Grand National race. On what was a bright but blustery day the event attracted contestants from all over Britain - 69 in all. The majority of mascots were from football but there were representatives from rugby union, basketball, horse racing, various charities and local firms. To avoid controversy and to ensure fairness a strict ban which later on was broken by one entrant was put on athletes competing as mascots to emphasize a "cause" (such as the Fox Hunting winner a couple of years back). A joke going round the course was that with the money going round at Chelsea - that they would be using Colin Jackson as a ringer for their mascot! |
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Although the number of mascots is down on previous years (this was due mainly to the sheer number of matches being held on the day - meant that some mascots on the choice of cheering on their team rather than competing chose their team.) This was the reason for the lack of foreign mascots - some German and Italian mascots wished to compete in the race but due to the clash of fixtures they couldn't. Despite this the race drew a very large crowd of well over 5000 and all the mascots were in very good spirits entertaining the crowds and posing for photographs - even some were signing autographs! | |||
| Stamford the Lion (Chelsea) and friends betting before the race. | ||||
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Arguably Benny
the Buck (Telford) was the biggest entertainer there with his non stop
cheering and did a great job at keeping children amused - he was popping
up everywhere - he never stopped. The mascots were then shown around the
parade ring - some a bit more hefty then others. They got involved in
bundles and water fights and joked around with each other. Some of the
mascots were behaving to type - Cyril the Swan (Swansea) as his
reputation as a naughty mascot was affirmed by him shunting around the
other mascots at will.
The race had
great interest from the media. There was a documentary team from
the US aswell as cameras from Sky, BBC and local press- and all the
major tabloids. The race itself was over 7 furlongs and the mascots who
had normal feet had to be handicapped - so started a little bit further
back. A huge crowd gathered to watch the main event. The course
commentators were at |
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The streaker entering the race entertaining the mascots. |
Monty The Lamb (Hendon) covering his eyes in amazement or embarrassment! |
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In third place
was Peter Burrow (Peterborough) who got a lot of local support as they
are the nearest team to the course - he was then followed by the bulk of
the race. Credit has to be given to the Preston North End mascot who was
clearly not well (he had crutches). Despite this he finished the race
slowly but surely (with a little help from the other mascots.). Huntingdon Racecourse also gets great credit from this race for all the proceeds from the race went to charity. All Fees received from the sponsorship to the the parcipants entry fees and merchandise went to the Princes' Trust. |
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Chaddy the Owl at the finishing post. |
The winners with their medals. Peter Burrow 3rd (left) Chaddy the Owl 1st (centre) Phoney Pony 2nd right |
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Although the 6th
British Grand National has been given a provisional date in Huntingdon's
race calendar in 2004 there are doubts over the longevity of the event
at this racecourse. According to an insider at the racecourse this could
well be the last held at Huntingdon and this is for two reasons: 1 The racecourse itself is in a group of racecourses called the "Racecourse Holding Trust" and this trust looks down upon this event because it detracts from the horse racing and that demeans horseracing "the sport of Kings" - because it is seen as too lowbrow. An insider believes that the streaker at today's event may well be the straw that breaks the camels back - adverse publicity that the racecourse does not want reaffirming the beliefs of people in the trust who want it stopped. 2 The event is a problem for the racecourse manager logistically because of the sheer size of the event - with the number of participants and the associated problems (accommodating media etc).. The racecourse is very small and it also the course makes no profit from the event (all profits as mentioned above go to Charity). Hopefully the British Grand National mascot will continue at Huntingdon. The event brings a huge crowd into what is a small course, and brings in people who otherwise would have never gone a racecourse. It is also a fun day out. The racecourse does make money indirectly from the event too - with more people at the race meeting it means more people will bet it and also more profit from selling food and drinks. It is a fun day for all the family and puts the mascots in the spotlight for once. It also is a chance for mascots from different clubs who would not otherwise meet to have a few drinks together. |
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The Ladbrokes.com Mascot Grand National comes under starters' orders on Sunday at Huntingdon Racecourse with over 80 competitors lining up. Ladbrokes.com are taking no chances this year making Chaddy the Owl the 2/1 jolly following his effortless victory last year in the one furlong event.
Chaddy is up against some stiff competition this year with Digger, the London Irish Rugby Club mascot, expected to attract backers at 16/1 and Stamford the Lion attracting some early surprise interest with the punters at 40/1. Warren Lush of Ladbrokes.com commented: "We hope Chelsea's new found millions have not bought them a new mascot otherwise we may find Linford Christie running in Stamford's shoes on Sunday!" The Mascot Grand National has not been without its hiccups in past years as fur flies, beaks break, feathers flap and paws are pounded. Race officials will be closely monitoring the antics of Chaddy the Owl, whose predatory footwear and start-line behaviour more than rustled a few feathers last year. Commenting on the race, Lush added: "We've been stung the last two year's and it's not going to happen again. "No longer will we act like the little humble field mouse, facing the predatory might of Chaddy the Owl, this year we mean business." |
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2003
