Kiplingcotes Derby - The Finish Traditional Cache
Busy Lissy Bunch: As there is new fence it is time to go for this one thanks to all who visited.
Kiplingcotes Derby - The Finish
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A cache and dash near the historic fiinishing post to Englands oldest and longest flat race.
The Kiplingcotes Derby is generally acknowledged as being the oldest and longest flat race in Britain havng been run every year since 1519. It was started as a test between local squires to see whose horse was fittest after the winter, and is run on the third Thursday in March. When adverse weather has stopped competitors from arriving it has been known for local farmers to walk their cart horses along the route to keep the race going, for if it is ever not run one year then it must never be run again. Unusually the second placed horse can win more than the winner as the winner gets £50 and the second gets the sum of the entry fees. Riders must enter by 11am and when weighed under the post must be at least 10 stone without the saddle (Mrs BL rode in her heaviest jacket with lead weights in the pockets - but that was years ago!!). The racecourse is actually a gallop along dirt tracks and road verges making it a gruelling race for horse and rider. Mrs BL did not win the race in her only attempt but grandad did so once. In recent times local rider Ken Holmes has dominated the race and has only recently retired from it.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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