THOUSANDS of racing fans flocked to Cartmel Races on a sun-drenched August bank holiday Saturday.

A crowd from across the North West enjoyed good quality racing on the track and a relaxed atmosphere around the unique South Lakes course.

They were in for a treat with seven hotly contested races on the cards. The big race of the day, The Cartmel Cup, was a thriller with the Slack family's Beeno storming to victory by seven lengths, partnered by Robert Hogg, who would be a double winner at the meeting.

There was plenty of support around the course for Barrow jockey Charlotte Jones, who rides for Cartmel trainer James Moffatt.

Carolyn Huddart, 22, of Walney, who was enjoying Cartmel with a group of friends said: "We have come to support Charlotte Jones. She is doing so well.

"Cartmel is a great venue with a good and relaxed atmosphere."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fun in the sun <a href="https://twitter.com/Cartmelrace">@Cartmelrace</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AugustBankHoliday?src=hash">#AugustBankHoliday</a> <a href="https://t.co/FYgbgMmOY0">https://t.co/FYgbgMmOY0</a> <a href="https://t.co/LHuJQVNaAZ">pic.twitter.com/LHuJQVNaAZ</a></p>— Natalie Chapples (@nchapplesNWEM) <a href="https://twitter.com/nchapplesNWEM/status/901813123090452480">August 27, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There were plenty of people celebrating significant birthdays or upcoming weddings at the event. Anne Barnes was celebrating her 50th birthday at the course with a large group of friends.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Anne Barnes celebrated her 50th birthday <a href="https://twitter.com/Cartmelrace">@Cartmelrace</a> Anne & her family are great supporters of Cartmel & racing <a href="https://t.co/FYgbgMmOY0">https://t.co/FYgbgMmOY0</a> <a href="https://t.co/lxhs75aeKW">pic.twitter.com/lxhs75aeKW</a></p>— Natalie Chapples (@nchapplesNWEM) <a href="https://twitter.com/nchapplesNWEM/status/901812757577822211">August 27, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mrs Barnes, of Holme Village, is a great supporter of Cartmel as her family have been involved in racing and horses for decades. Her mother Joan Garnett and late father Wilson Garnett, own racehorse Presenting Junior, a two-time Cartmel winner trained by Martin Todhunter. Her father passed away in January.

Mrs Barnes said: "I've been coming to Cartmel since I was eight-months-old. Cartmel means everything, it's family, friends, the atmosphere, it's what everyone puts on here.

"It's just fab. All the local trainers and owners know each other.

"Junior is out in the field, he's fine. The cheer he got here in July when he won, you could have heard it at Ulverston."

*Tomorrow, bank holiday Monday is the final meeting of the Cartmel summer season. Racing is set to start from 2.20pm. The feature race of the day is the £25,000 Coral Hurdle. Entertainment at the course starts from 10am.

*See more from Cartmel Races at nwemail.co.uk later today