Horse Racing Crowds On The Rise

The UK horse racing industry has been boosted by new figures that show a significant 3.6% increase in racecourse attendances to date in 2010, compared with 2009.

The figures are made all the more impressive by the fact that a number of high profile fixtures were lost in January due to the icy weather. Despite the drop in race meetings, the average daily attendance has grown from 4,351 to 4,513 year on year.

These figures will be particularly welcomed by the industry in the current economic climate when other major sports continue to struggle with declining gate receipts.

The increase in attendances has been consistent over the past nine months but April (+7.3%) and July (+10.1%) were particularly strong.

Another feature of the figures is the growing success of racing’s main showcase meetings, the Cheltenham Festival, the Aintree John Smith’s Grand National, the Investec Derby, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, York Ebor Festival and the Doncaster Ladbrokes St Leger Festival. 

At each of these major events, 2010 crowd numbers exceeded the previous year’s attendances.
Earlier, in April, the industry, under its Racing for Change banner, initiated the first ever ‘week of free racing’ with nine courses, including Ascot and Goodwood, allowing the public in at no cost.

This promotion proved highly successful, attracting an extra 40,000 customers through the gates (compared to the previous year’s attendances). Research showed that over 60% of these racegoers were new to the sport.

Stephen Atkin, Chief Executive of the Racecourse Association commented, ‘This is a fantastic performance by British racecourses given the financial strain that many people have found themselves in recently and the fact that we are in a World Cup year.  It goes to prove that racing remains a highly popular and attractive day out, and that horseracing offers an exciting and innovative experience for all the family.’