May 2016 contents 3. Grand National 2016 17. Pony Racing Authority 4. Attendances 18. The British Racing School 5. Drinkaware Annual Roadshow 19. Awards Season 6. #TopSpot 20. Five Minutes of Fame 21. HBLB / The Jockey Club 7. #TopSpot 22. Sponsorship 8. Raceday Experience Group 23. Sponsorship 9. RCA & Racing Together 24. RaceTech 10. GBR 25. RaceTech 11. GBR 26. Medical / Badges & PASS 2016 12. GBRI 27. PASS / Technical 13. Racing to School 28. Technical 14. Walking the Courses 29. Technical 15. Racecourse in Focus 30. Diary Dates / Contributors' 16. Thoroughbred Horseracing Contact List Industries MBA Grand National 2016 The People’s Race Aintree welcomed 152,665 racegoers to the Crabbie’s providing the distinctive Grand National atmosphere. Grand National Festival in 2016 as the Great British public flocked to Merseyside to experience the world’s A sell out 70,000 capacity watched the Grand National most famous steeplechase and a host of other top class at its new start time of 5.15pm, a move that was racing. appreciated by those gathering around the television at home with a peak audience of 10 million tuning in. Record crowds visited day one of the Festival, whilst Ladies Day again proved to be a stylish, fun and John Baker, Regional Director of the Jockey Club, unforgettable experience for racegoers with an extra commented "We're thrilled 10 million people in Britain two thousand in attendance. and hundreds of millions worldwide watched the world's greatest steeplechase at its new time of 5.15pm. There was plenty to keep racegoers entertained away from the racing on the track, with a new street food That is one of the largest viewing audiences in British enclosure, a parade of Grand National heroes, a host sport- the Crabbie's Grand National truly is the 'People's of live bands and the ever-popular Red Rum Lawn Race'.” 2012 Winner Neptune Collonges in the Parade Ring May 2016 3 back to menu Attendances Following the release of the Levy Board attendance Record Cheltenham Festival crowds as well as the comparison for Q1 2016, the Racecourse Association largest ever Good Friday crowd at Lingfield Park’s All (RCA) would like to express encouragement around the Weather Championships Final Day helped to boost numbers. Despite the comparative decline from 2015 March figures. there are clear reasons for this drop. Easter falling early in 2016 resulted in Ascot’s A total of 772,114 people went racing during the first Countryside Day and Doncaster’s Lincoln meeting three months of the year with an average attendance of dropping into April. Had this not happened the March 2,690 at each meeting. figures would have been up on 2015. The weather has played a major factor across January, Stephen Atkin, Chief Executive of the RCA, said: “I February and March and we have experienced 39 would like to pay tribute to the hard work put in by abandonments in comparison to 22 from the same racecourse teams during a challenging three months time period in 2015. As well as the 77% increase in lost in terms of weather. Their continued effort has ensured fixtures, the unusually wet beginning to the year has that disruption from abandonments has been minimal reduced the number of walk-up ticket sales. and as a result attendance figures have been steady. Five of the abandonments occurred on Saturdays, “Record Aintree crowds, some much needed sunshine when we would normally expect to see the largest and the 2,000 Guineas falling in April should see this crowds from advance ticket sales as well as walk-ups. month balance out the drop in February and March. February and March 2015 also featured a number of free or reduced cost racedays, with Ascot Chase Day The figures also underline the importance of the and Sandown Park’s Imperial Cup meeting in particular customer insight project that we have been conducting drawing bumper crowds as a result. The 2016 with racecourses and Great British Racing (GBR). attendances from these meetings have been more The racecourses are now armed with an intelligence reflective of previous years. led platform to develop their marketing campaigns to continue toward our attendance target of seven million.” May 2016 4 back to menu Drinkaware Annual Roadshow The Drinkaware annual roadshow was held at the QE2 Centre in Westminster and provided a great opportunity for the RCA to represent the interests of racecourses with regards to promoting responsible drinking and to demonstrate the fine work that is prevalent throughout our industry. opportunities arising due to our sport and the state of the art venues we possess across Britain. Drinkaware’s Rommel Moseley spoke of the Drinkaware ‘Crew’ training that had been well received in the nightclub sector. Being the first sport to partner Drinkaware, it is important that British racecourses, via the RCA, continue to innovate in this area and make the most of the partnership. As such, the ‘Crew’ training has been developed for racecourses and racecourse staff and we are delighted to confirm the first session will take place at Newbury Racecourse on Wednesday 25 May. Should you wish to discuss a local initiative that may be of interest to Drinkaware or to find out more about Drinkaware’s national campaigns for 2016, please contact Paul Swain. The theme of the day was ‘delivering behaviour change through partnership’, with emphasis being given to how funders of Drinkaware can do more with the charity to drive change in their sector. Key note speeches from Parliamentary Under Secretary of the Home Office Karen Bradley MP and Shadow Minister at the Home Office Lyn Brown MP demonstrated the importance of the night-time and alcohol industry to the country. In particular, Karen Bradley MP highlighted the ‘thousands of jobs’ created as a result of the alcohol industry and how it provided people with ‘positive social situations to unwind in their leisure time.’ Both points are particularly prevalent Karen Bradley MP to racecourses, with numerous employment and social May 2016 5 back to menu #TopSpot is back #TopSpot is back for the Summer! for the Summer! What is a #TopSpot? A #TopSpot is a standalone initiative, We’re delighted to be bringing large or small, that enriches the back the seasonal #TopSpot racecourse brand and/or raceday competitions this summer with experience for customers. two topics for racecourses to choose from: #FlowerPower These should be captured in a and Kids go Free. photograph and sent via Twitter to @RCAShowcase with the hashtag #TopSpot. #FlowerPower is all about embracing the spring and Things to put forward include: summer months with glorious flower displays to wow your customers. We’ve seen some fantastic floral • Innovative ideas entries in the past and hope that there are plenty more • A novelty factor to come this year. • Problem solving ability • Promotion of the racecourse brand Kids go free is one of racing’s unique selling points • Aesthetically pleasing elements and additions to versus other leisure and sporting attractions, and we the racecourse site want to see how racecourses are using this hook in an • Opportunities to further engage with racegoers innovative way to bring more families to the races for a • Educational insights into sport/equestrian welfare great day out. There is no limit to how many #TopSpots you can Both competitions will launch in the coming weeks, so submit over the course of the year, but only your best start thinking about what could be entered. three can be chosen to be put forward to the final gallery from which the #TopSpot Showcase Award will be decided in November. May 2016 6 back to menu May 2016 7 back to menu Raceday Experience Group The Raceday Experience Group met on Monday 18 April and was represented by: Paul Swain (RCA, Chair) Rebecca Hamilton (Jockey Club Bill Bailey (RCA/Racegoers Club) Racecourses) Ilona Barnett (Stratford) Ashley Moon (Hamilton Park) Brian Barrass (ARC) Abigail Sawyer (Jockey Club Chris Bevan (Ascot) Racecourses) Sarah Bullen (Goodwood) Amy Swales (York) Holly Cook (RCA) Gregg Taylor (Great British Racing) David Fraser (Harrison:Fraser) Katie Wise (Jockey Club Racecourses) Fraser Garrity (Chelmsford City) Roscoe Young (Newbury) We are delighted to welcome both would also be an opportunity to save Fraser Garrity of Chelmsford City on raceday tickets for customers at Racecourse and GBR to the group on participating shops. Paul Swain added that the Raceday a fulltime basis, with representation Stratford: Ilona Barnett reported that Experience survey, as previously being shared between Rod Street, Stratford Racecourse had launched discussed by the Group, was Harriet Collins and Gregg Taylor. an SMS information service, but now prepared and ready to be Key discussions from the meeting there had been limited opportunity to disseminated. He indicated Two included: develop this due to abandonments. Circles would be contacting all racecourses in May to finalise New Initiatives Roundtable Showcase & Awards 2016 preparations. Ascot: Chris Bevan reported changes Paul Swain presented the new to the online booking system, which scoring system to the Group which Responsible Drinking better enabled customers to upgrade had been developed using feedback Paul Swain informed the Group of or enhance their raceday relevant to from racecourses over the past few training sessions, run by Drinkaware, items they placed in their basket. months. The significant changes which would see staff receive Hamilton Park: Ashley Moon stated include scoring each initiative out of accreditation in engaging with that Hamilton Park had created a ten marks, with insight/rationale and customers exposed to alcohol. He VIP bar area which was part of a value/ROI now influencing the scoring. added the first session would take significant investment in racegoer place at Newbury Racecourse on 25 facilities over the winter.