'It's embarrassing' - Charlie Fellowes implores Newmarket trainers to show off yards at upcoming open weekend

Newmarket’s trainers have been urged to step up and support next month’s Henry Cecil Open Weekend after it emerged that only a third of the yards in the town had signed up to allow the public access to meet their horses.

Charlie Fellowes, chair of the Open Weekend, has threatened to resign from the role he has held since 2018 after describing it as “embarrassing” that only 19 of the town's 62 yards had agreed to open on the morning of Sunday, September 24.

The opportunity for the public to go into training yards is among the most popular aspects of open days, with the Henry Cecil Open Weekend also including activities around Newmarket, such as visits to the National Stud, British Racing School, Tattersalls and the Jockey Club Rooms.