The Industry Column – Cheltenham Racecourse

Peter McNeile, Director of Sponsorship for Cheltenham Racecourse, discusses the impact of cancelling sporting events due to adverse weather…

Event cancellation – a nightmare scenario?

This winter’s extreme weather has forced the cancellation of several sports events, including racing, but then summer sports like tennis and cricket are not immune from such acts of God either!

Event organisers dread cancellations, not just because of the damage to their bottom line. Corporate reputation and sponsor relationships can suffer, too. That’s why we do all we can to avoid cancellations, but sometimes they are inevitable. Most recently, innovation in track management has enabled whole racecourses to be covered as some protection against frost – generally our biggest threat. In addition, the racing community has come up with innovative ways of addressing this issue; where possible, any premium event that has to be cancelled will be re-run in the sponsor’s name at a later date. 

A racecourse will rarely abandon a meeting more than 3 days in advance, unless conditions are quite clearly putting the event beyond doubt, but the team will swing into action once it becomes clear that there is a risk of cancellation. The primary focus is to save the high value stakes races that attract the sport’s leading players, where opportunities are not legion. As well as contacting sponsors, trainers and owners, each racecourse will speak with other racecourse groups and to the BHA and the sport’s broadcasters to find alternative solutions.

Typically, cancelled races are re-scheduled to another nearby racecourse – of the same status – on the next comparable racing day, ideally with comparable exposure for the sponsor’s brand in terms of track signage, broadcast coverage and so on. For example, when the valuable Victor Chandler Chase was cancelled at Ascot in late January and the race was rescheduled for Cheltenham the following week – where it enjoyed comparable broadcast coverage and higher attendances on-course. 

Sometimes a change of date is all that is needed. At the Cheltenham Festival in 2008, the second day of racing was cancelled due to high winds that made the course potentially unsafe. It was headline news, but commentators also recognised the efficiency with which we re-organised the remaining days of the Festival, running more races on each remaining day so no sponsor lost out. The marathon 9 and 10 race cards on the subsequent two days were a feast of quality for spectators and broadcast audiences alike, as everyone rowed in to play their part in keeping the sport on course. Recently, we considered the “Wimbledon solution” – moving the action to Sunday when Saturday seemed under threat – but the weather abated and Saturday was able to continue as normal.   

Hospitality deals can be more difficult to honour. The new venue may not be able to accommodate additional guests if its hospitality is already fully booked. Many hospitality guests are busy people with full schedules; they may not be able to make a different date at short notice. Anti-bribery laws mean that a sponsor may have undertaken several months of compliance to be able to entertain key stakeholders and public sector employees, like MPs, will have had to declare any invitations. A move of date and place can mean the whole process falls apart and a refund is the only option.  

Congestion in the racing calendar means that a race must be re-scheduled within a week to ten days, or it risks compromising other similar opportunities elsewhere. As time elapses, the chances of matching a suitable racecourse with the availability of trainers, owners and horses are diminished, so the industry works quickly to come up with viable alternatives. In mid-January racing was cancelled at Haydock Park and the Stan James-sponsored Champion Hurdle Trial (with newly increased prize money of £75k) was transferred to Doncaster the following weekend. When Doncaster, too, was cancelled the window of opportunity closed and the race has gone from this year’s calendar.

Successful re-scheduling requires pre-planning – and goodwill from a number of parties, not just the racecourse owners. The owners and trainers all need to support the new date and venue or the race will be diminished. Broadcasters and the racing authorities also have to agree to the change. When a new race is slotted into a race meeting, the incumbent sponsors have to agree to share their expected benefit, whether that is the length of time their track signage is on display or the attention devoted to their brand in any broadcast or print coverage. These negotiations can be particularly delicate when competitor brands are involved, but it is testament to the ethos of sportsmanship in racing that no sponsor has ever refused such a request. There seems to be a tacit understanding that all racing sponsors would wish to be treated in the same, fair way. In the final analysis, everyone wants what is best for the sport. 

We’ve come a long way in a fairly short space of time to try and overcome the vagaries of the weather. What was previously unthinkable has now become the industry norm. Weather is a big issue for our winter sport, and organizers have needed to become more flexible in protecting themselves from the one variable that we can do little to combat. 

For more information, visit: www.jump-racing.com