Victor Chandler To Sponsor Re-Arranged Lester Piggott Day Newmarket has today confirmed that Lester Piggott Day, which was due to have been staged in honour of the legendary jockey in May, but had to be cancelled when Lester suffered a recurrence of a heart problem, will take place on the NatWest Rowley Mile Racecourse on Saturday, September 22. Victor Chandler will sponsor the day and five of the seven races on the card.'It´s wonderful news that Lester is back to his old self and that Victor Chandler have stepped in to sponsor the rescheduled day,' said Lisa Hancock, Managing Director of Newmarket Racecourses. 'We´re now all looking forward to a wonderful occasion next month when his many fans can honour Britain´s greatest ever jockey.'Racegoers will be able to relive some of the best moments from Lester´s remarkable career when we show a selection of his big race victories on the big screen and enjoy the display of memorabilia and iconic photographs which the National Horseracing Museum has assembled. 'The day will be exactly as we had intended it to be in May, with the races named after his seven Guineas winners, 50 years on from the first of them, Crepello in the 2000 Guineas of 1957. Lester and Sir Peter O´Sullevan will do book signings, there will be a souvenir racecard and some of the people who knew Lester best during his riding career will pay tribute to him over the PA system between races.'Neal Wilkins from VC Bet commented: 'This is a great opportunity for Victor Chandler to celebrate Lester´s achievements at the home of racing and with our sponsorship of the first five races on the card we will be able to pay tribute to the great man´s contribution to racing. Having ridden winners through six decades, Lester´s sporting feats are unparalleled by any other sportsman.'Victor and Lester have been great friends for some years since the 11-times champion jockey retired, and Victor Chandler enjoyed a great weekend at Musselburgh three seasons ago when Lester was the guest of the sponsors for the Victor Chandler Scottish Sprint Cup.'As well as Victor Chandler, NGK Spark Plugs and antepostmag.com will be sponsoring the last two races on the card.
