Ffos Las gets royal seal of approval

PRINCE Charles has given a royal seal of approval to Carmarthenshire’s Ffos Las Racecourse.

His Royal Highness flew in to the course by helicopter from his nearby residence at Llwynywormwood in Myddfai to spend the day at the races which had been laid on in his honour with a slice of proceeds from ticket sales being donated to his chosen charities.

It is the first time Ffos Las has hosted a royal visit, which helped raise funds for The Prince’s Charities in Wales – the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the UK.

As well as meeting Ffos Las officials, trainers, stable staff, vets and jockeys, the Prince also took time to meet and chat to representatives of the various charities, including those from the Prince’s Trust and PRIME Cymru.

The Prince also took time to plant a tree, grown on the Duchy of Cornwall estate as part of The Woodland Trust’s Jubilee Woods Project, which aims to plant six million trees across the UK to celebrate the 60-year reign of Her Majesty the Queen.

After watching a number of races from the Ffos Las grandstand, the Prince then made presentations to the winning race horse owners before returning to his royal residence.

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Council Leader Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “This royal visit was the icing on the cake for Ffos Las. I am sure that Prince Charles had a wonderful day enjoying all that Carmarthenshire has to offer, and hopefully he’ll make many return visits in the future.”

Ffos Las has brought top class racing back to West Wales for the first time since 1937.

The racecourse occupies the former site of the largest open cast coalmine in Europe.

It is situated in the heart of Carmarthenshire between the towns of Llanelli and Carmarthen, and is surrounded by rolling hills and countryside with views down the Gwendraeth Valley to Carmarthen Bay.