THOUSANDS of punters are heading to Cartmel for today’s Bank Holiday race meeting.

There are seven races taking place between 2.20pm and 5.50pm.

The weather forecast is for brighter spells this afternoon after a cloudy start to the day.

Meanwhile, three Cheltenham Festival heroes will go on parade for Veterans Day on Wednesday.

Chief Dan George, who is trained just a mile from the South Lakeland course by Jimmy Moffatt, will be joined by Mister McGoldrick and Hussard Collonges in the parade.

Chief Dan George won the William Hill Handicap Chase at the Festival in 2010, while Mister McGoldrick, trained by Sue Smith, won the Racing Post Plate in 2008 and Hussard Collonges took the RSA Chase in 2002 for Peter Beaumont.

It had been hoped that the grey superstar Monet’s Garden would also be in the parade to make his first public appearance since his life-threatening foot problem.

But a fault in a scanning machine meant he could not be cleared to appear.

The three stars will be joined by three lesser known horses from the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre, who will demonstrate the re-training methods which give horses a future after their racing days.

The feature race on the card is the Burlington Stone Cartmel Grand Veterans Handicap Chase which could see a re-match between Volcanic Rock and Petite Margot.

They were first and second in a three miles, six furlong handicap chase in August.

Volcanic Rock won that day by one-and-three-quarter lengths but is scheduled to meet his rival on 11lbs worse terms.