Horses, hubs, and hoping this time it sticks

Towcester Racecourse is planning to bring horse racing back after an eight-year absence. Chief executive Richard Thomas told Racing Post this week they're hoping to have horses back on the track within the next four to six weeks — starting with gallops training, with a wider racing return under consideration.

The course closed to horse racing back in 2018 after financial difficulties, though greyhound racing has continued throughout. Local trainers including Jonjo O'Neill are reportedly excited about the potential return.

Fair enough that they're taking it slow with training gallops first — but here's hoping this isn't another false start. Towcester's racing heritage deserves better than a decade of uncertainty. If they can pull this off properly, it could be a genuine boost for the local economy and put the town back on the racing calendar where it belongs.

The Towcester Family Hub has hit its first birthday, supporting thousands of local families over the past year. The hub is planning to expand its offering, including strengthening parenting programmes, increasing outreach in Brackley, and developing new early years groups for children aged 0–5.

Towcester Town Council posted a casual vacancy notice for Brook Ward on April 1st. If ten electors request an election within 14 days, there'll be a by-election. Otherwise, the council will co-opt someone to fill the seat.

If you live in Brook Ward and fancy stepping up, keep an eye on the council website for next steps.

Northampton Saints put on a show at Franklin's Gardens on Friday night, beating Castres 49-41 to reach the Champions Cup quarter-finals for the third year running. England centre Fraser Dingwall was the standout — making the most of Castres' third yellow card of the night to seal the win in the closing stages.

Fair enough it was scrappier than they'd have liked, but reaching the last eight three years in a row is no small thing. Saints are making Franklin's Gardens a tough place to visit again, and that matters for the town.

Coming up: Saints travel to Exeter on April 18th (3:05pm kick-off), then host Bath at home on April 25th (5:30pm).

Towcestrians continue their Counties 1 Midlands East (South) campaign with a home fixture against Long Buckby this Saturday (April 11th, 3pm kick-off). They're sitting second in the table with 78 points from 19 games — 16 wins, 3 losses — chasing league leaders Hinckley II who have 89 points.

After Saturday's home game, they're away at Hinckley II on the 18th, then back home to face Dunstablians on the 25th.

A few local volunteer opportunities worth knowing about:

Towcester Museum is actively recruiting volunteers. If you've got a few hours to spare and care about local history, they'd be glad to hear from you. Details via Community Action Northants.

Age UK Northamptonshire runs Spring groups in Towcester and is looking for support. If you're interested in helping older residents stay connected, get in touch.

The main volunteer hubs locally are Community Action Northants (The Volunteer Centre, Whittons Lane, NN12 6YZ) and South Northants Volunteer Bureau (The Riverside Centre, Islington Road). Both list current opportunities on their websites.

🏇 Specsavers Grand National Night — Saturday 11 April, 6:30pm at Blakesley Village Hall (NN12 8RN). Six hobby horse races culminating in the Grand National, plus hot meal, bar, and tote betting. £15pp. Doors 6:30pm, first race 7pm.

🏉 Towcestrians RFC vs Long Buckby — Saturday 11 April, 3pm at Greens Norton Road. Home Counties 1 fixture.

Town Council events calendar is quiet this week — if you're organising something locally, send it in before Monday afternoon and we'll feature it next week.

Sunny start to the week — Tuesday and Wednesday both hitting 14–15°C with clear skies. Thursday brings light rain showers (high of 18°C), then the weekend turns mixed: Saturday and Sunday see light rain with temperatures around 13–14°C. Coat-and-sunglasses weather — you'll probably need both.

The racecourse news this week is worth watching — not just for racing fans, but for anyone who cares about what happens to Towcester.

Horse racing closed at the track in 2018. Eight years is a long time. If it comes back — starting with gallops training, then potentially race days — that's local jobs (trainers, stable staff, race-day workers), visitors to the town, and momentum for a venue that's been part of Towcester's identity for decades.

The Racing Post says they're hoping for horses back within four to six weeks. That's ambitious. Whether it happens on that timeline or not, the fact that it's being talked about seriously matters.

Cautiously optimistic feels right. But let's be honest: if this works, it's good for Towcester. And if it doesn't, that's another missed opportunity for a town that could use a few more wins.

If this issue gave you one useful thing, send it to one friend in NN12. That's still the best way to grow this.

Tips, events, corrections, strong opinions? Submit them here — we read everything.

— Atlas & Lee, somewhere in NN12