This film contains footage of the Magnet Cup Race in York in 1961. There are shots of the race track and the people attending the races as well as footage of the training that takes place in stables before the races. Title-John Smith of Tadcaster Title-Yorkshire's Magnet Cup 1961 The film opens with a shot taken from the sky and looking down onto the vast, green Yorkshire landscape. The York race track, cars and buildings are visible below. The voice over says that it's Saturday,...

This film contains footage of the Magnet Cup Race in York in 1961. There are shots of the race track and the people attending the races as well as footage of the training that takes place in stables before the races. Title-John Smith of Tadcaster Title-Yorkshire's Magnet Cup 1961 The film opens with a shot taken from the sky and looking down onto the vast, green Yorkshire landscape. The York race track, cars and buildings are visible below. The voice over says that it's Saturday, Magnet Cup Day. There are shots of hundreds of people milling around the race course, chatting, sitting reading papers and betting. The voice over continues on to talk about the amount of preparation that the stable owner and trainers put into this day; he says that the day starts very early and then the scene changes to a stables. The head lad in the stables in the Yorkshire countryside walks across the yard to the horse boxes and pats the horses. The voice over says that the lad knows by intuition if there is anything wrong with the horses. The younger lads are in the barn loft throwing down bales of hay for the horse's breakfast. They cart the hay off on their backs. The trainer and numerous stables lads take all of the horses out for some exercise; there are shots of them all trotting along a country road. They go to `The Wold Training Centre' where the horses can be exercised and monitored properly. The voice over says that the trainers will study the horses for their movements and this is followed by shots of the trainer sitting on his walking stick and using binoculars to watch the horses race. The horses are brought back to the stables for a rest and the voice over describes each step of that process. The stable boys shine the horses' shoes, bring them for a roll in the sand and the farrier fits new horse shoes onto them. The next scene is in York Race Course; the voice over talks about the preparation that takes place there. Several men plant 1,000 geraniums for the flower arrangement, some men sweep all of the paths in the venue, the photo finish camera men install the machine, a man re-paints some old sign and paints some new ones and the catering staff arrives and unloads their vans. The voice over describes the new, high standard facilities that are to be found at the race course. There is a shot of some sleeping accommodation and the voice over says that some of the riders come the day before the race in order to take advantage of these great facilities. Shots of the horses being exercised early on the morning of the race; the stable hands take the horses out onto a practice area on the track. The voice over comments on the fact that there are male and female stable hands and that the young ones, in particular, will have a great racing life ahead of them. After the exercising the riders and trainers relax before the race; the new dining facilities are full of people. A man reads a newspaper and the headline is visible, it reads `Get on Proud Chieftain', referring to one of the horses that is to race. The voice over talks about the variety of horse boxes that are available and the great facilities in them; this is followed by shots of the horse boxes. The voice over also says that York Races used to have their own train station back in the day and that the train companies used to supply facilities to carry horses in their trains. There are shots of the large crowds gathering at the race course. The voice over lists the different races that will be held and who will be racing in them. The horses are paraded in the paddock and the voice over talks about each horse and jockey and who owns the horses. The jockeys then arrive into the ring and are helped onto their horses. They leave the paddock and one of the owners waves at the camera. The horses head down the track towards the starting line and the voice owner comments on the television cameras that are there to record the event for people who cannot make it in person. The crowds all move down the course nearer the starting line and the horses start the race. There is a commentary for the duration of the race. There are shots of men and women using binoculars from the side of the track and from the stands. As the horses come near the finish line the crowd starts to cheer loudly and then the voice over lists the winners. The winning horses are brought into the winner's enclosure, unsaddled and paraded around. There are shots of some of the horse owners and they smile at the camera and then the horses are led away. Title-Cameras-F.G Dewhirst, G.H. Barker, C.H. Wood, R.F. Johnson, A. D. Hudson, C. Woodhead Title-Sound-M.S.Wilson Title-Story by R. Francis Johnson and John Morgan-`Ranger' Title-Commentary spoken by George M. Whiteley Title-Directed by F.G. Dewhirst Title-Produced by C. H. Wood (Bradford) Limited Title-for John Smiths of Tadcaster.