AIKEN, S.C. — The Aiken Fall Steeplechase falls on Halloween this year, and organizers are leaning into it with costume contests and trick-or-treating alongside a full card of thoroughbred racing on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Six races are planned, five of them over jumps and one on the flat. The day opens at 1 p.m. with the Travers Line, a 1¼-mile race with no purse, and builds to the $50,000 Holiday Cup, run over 2⅛ miles as the final jump race. The other purses range from $20,000 to $30,000.
Kids, adults and even dogs can enter costume contests, and there is a tailgate contest with a Halloween theme. The Aiken Steeplechase Association wants railside space holders to bring candy for young trick-or-treaters. Stick horse races, corgi races, a hat contest and live music round out the day.
Patron tickets cost $47.25 and parking passes $42 online, and both will also be sold at the gates by card only. Children 10 and younger get in free with an adult.
Recent fall meets have drawn as many as 15,000 people, and roughly 10,000 are expected this weekend, a crowd that restaurants and bars around downtown Aiken count on during a season when business usually slows.
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