Tom Richmond: The racecourse that is Flat out to promote careers in racing

Yet, while Catterick is perceived to be one of the less glamorous courses, its fixture next Friday is, arguably, one of the most important to have been staged since the inception of the A1 track as long ago as 1783.

Why? Though the eyes of the sporting world will be on Epsom for the Investec Derby meeting, the North Yorkshire track is once, again, holding a racing careers day following the success of the inaugural initiative last year.

Once again the course, in association with Racing to School, is offering a unique behind-the-scenes tour and workshop prior to racing for local Pony Club members and schoolchildren enjoying the half-term break.

Those who have registered to take part in the workshop will be taken on a guided tour of the course visiting areas normally restricted to the public, including the weighing room and stables, before walking the track. There will also be a riding simulator if children want to try to become the next AP McCoy or Frankie Dettori.

The idea, says general manager Fiona Needham, is to team up with other organisations to promote career options within the racing industry, whether it be becoming a jockey, trainer, blacksmith, vet or stable lad or lass.

Such foresight is commendable. Like all rural industries, they need to sell themselves – and the great outdoors – to young people before they become too immersed in all things digital. It’s why the case for a GCSE in agriculture is so strong.

Yet, as Leeds-born Gemma Hogg, 36, told me this week, the rewards are priceless. Now assistant trainer to Middleham’s Micky Hammond, she’s the former stable lass who has written a bestseller chronicling her life in racing and affinity with horses. “I always describe where we live and work as being a little piece of heaven and although it sounds a bit clichéd it’s the best description I have to offer,” she writes in Stable Lass: Riding out and mucking in. “It’s the Yorkshire Dales, for heaven’s sake.”