www.racecourseassociation.co.uk September 2018 September updatenewsletter CONTENTS Welcome 03 Groundstaff Awards 07 07 Revive:Live 08 On Track 10 New Arrival at the RCA 11 Did You Know ... 12 RCA Technical Group 12 Badges & Pass 2018 13 Racegoers Club 14 Five Minutes of Fame 16 RaceTech 17 BHA Racecourse Operations 18 GBRI 20 Racing Foundation 21 Racing to School 22 Racing Together 23 RoR 24 The Thoroughbred Club 25 Thoroughbred Breeders Assoc. 25 Watt Fences 27 Duralock 28 Job Board 29 Careers Overview Seminars 32 PJA Pro Am 33 Diary Dates / Contributors / 34 Staff Contact List 12 17 22 2 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page WELCOMEWords by Stephen Atkin Paul Swain, our Brand and Experience One of the most enduring qualities of I am, like many of you no doubt, looking Manager, has kindly stepped aside this British racecourses is the unmatched forward with much enthusiasm to month so that I could pen our page 3 variety of the venues both large and the RCA’s award winning Showcase (another first for my CV). Either that or small. At the RCA we aim to do what we Seminar and Dinner at Aintree Paul is temporarily lost for words, which can to help you understand what our racecourse on 8 November. If you I am sure you would agree is highly competitors in the sporting and leisure have not already done so, I would unlikely. markets, are up to and to gain a better encourage you to enter one or more of understanding of what drives customer the categories and wish all entrants the As some of you may know, I will be interest and expectations, to keep best of luck. stepping down at the end of this you up to date with ever increasing month, after 18 years in the saddle With my very best wishes and heartfelt legislative and regulatory demands as your Chief Executive. I have been thanks to all our readers. and to represent your interests within overwhelmed by the many kind the Industry and beyond. None of this messages from members and others would be possible without the excellent in our wonderful sport which are much RCA team, of which I am proud to have appreciated if undeserved. been a member. It has been the greatest privilege of The RCA and our members are at their my working life to have served the RCA most effective when we work together members and Board since July 2000. to agree common objectives and The time has flown by. Racecourses strategies to enable us to work with have made enormous strides over that our colleagues at both the BHA and period both in terms of commercial the Horseman’s Group with a common performance, the experience we purpose for the overall good of our provide to our customers and the wonderful sport. We have all together returns we provide to racehorse owners made great strides over the past and their connections in recognition decade with tangible results and it has of their vital importance to our sport been an honour for me to have been a and the sporting spectacle we aim to small part of that. provide. 3 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page WE’RENEWS FROM IN OUR PARTNERS THEUpdate has been chosen RACE! as a Finalist for The Association Excellence Awards 2018’s Best Association Newsletter. A word from partners of the RCA : Watt Fences, Pitchcare and Duralock plus the latest Job Board 4 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page 1 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page SHOWCASE & AWARDS 2018 5 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page NEWS FROM THE RCA The latest from the RCA, with a look at the Revive:Live, On Track, the new arrival at the RCA and the Groundstaff Awards. 6 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page RACECOURSE GROUNDSTAFF AWARDS 2018 - THE WINNERS Dual Purpose Sponsored once again by Pitchcare, As well as winners for the Dual Purpose, Ascot Watt Fences and Fornells, the award Flat and Jumps categories there is winners were decided by an industry also a Special Merit Award and Lifetime Flat wide panel made up of representatives Achievement Award. from the RCA, Professional Jockeys From the winners, a Groundstaff Great Yarmouth Association (PJA), British Horseracing Champion will be chosen and crowned Authority (BHA) and National Trainers Jump at the 2018 RCA Showcase Awards Federation (NTF). Warwick on Thursday 8 November at Aintree The winning teams are deemed to have Racecourse. Special Merit Award demonstrated the highest levels of Cheltenham commitment, innovation and excellence across the year. Neil Wyatt Lifetime Achievement Award Richard Osgood (Newbury) Great Yarmouth grounds team RACECOURSE GROUNDSTAFF COURSES The date and location for the first 2019 Racecourse Groundstaff Course has now been finalised as follows: 7-11 January 2019 - Racecourse Groundstaff Turf Management Course The British Racing School, Newmarket For more information on upcoming IOG courses or to reserve a place on the above course please contact Anita at [email protected] at the Institute of Groundsmanship, 28 Stratford Office Village, Walker Avenue, Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes, MK12 5TW, Tel: 01908 312511 7 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page REVIVE:LIVE REVIVE:LIVE Words by Paul Swain Revive:Live sought to visit and de-code a number of such places, posing the question of how each of our venues could discover areas and create experiences which would help define the future of raceday experience. The beauty of the spaces visited on the tour was that they cost very little to fit out and can always be adapted depending on the season/trend of the day. The delegates on the day were taken with a number of the venues. Upon visiting Mercato Metropolitano, a sustainable community market with street food and bars of the world, Pontefract’s Chief Operating Officer Richard Hammill commented “You can see how it’s all been done very tastefully, but without a huge amount of money. "It’s something that’s very easily replicable for a racecourse with a smaller budget. This is a great idea for a food court – we’re looking at renovating our food court and food offerings for the future, and it’s certainly given us lots to think about.” From the Old Truman Brewery, a run- down quarter which has since been transformed with a plethora of galleries, Take 16 racecourse representatives, 7 markets and event spaces, Warwick’s venues, 3 taxis and 1 guidebook; the Zoe Klein stated “There are lots of result is Revive:Live, the latest live tour different concepts and different ideas from the RCA’s Raceday Experience that come together. There’s always Group. something to see, something different, Following Ascot’s keynote presentation something to discover. It makes you at the 2017 Showcase Seminar, it smile a bit really brightens up your day.” became apparent that empty and Paul Swain, the RCA’s Brand & disused spaces were a common Experience Manager, added “It’s coming occurrence at many racecourses. This through how simply these venues have resulted in Revive:Live being curated—a put it all together. None of the furniture tour of London’s best venues which is expensive and none of the venues are have been reimagined from abandoned, particularly grand, but what they’ve done empty spaces into thriving, popular is make them feel contemporary, fresh destinations in their own right. and homely in a way that every single Often today’s measure of racecourse can do. The proof is in the attractiveness is based on an ephemeral vast numbers of people who visit in their and spontaneous space of happening, spare time!” driven by FOMO (fear of missing out). Research suggests that the influencers Due to fantastic feedback, Revive:Live of today will be found in a rediscovered will run again on Wednesday 10th corner—beneath a railway arch, a quiet October from 1.30pm-5.30pm. corner of the grandstand, other places To reserve your place, please which, until now, we thought we had no contact Paul Swain at your earliest use for. convenience. 8 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page 9 | RCA Update Newsletter 2018 Back to content page ON TRACK: RACECOURSES & HOTELS Cllr Bill Mordue, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Economic Development cuts the ribbon COMING to a racecourse near “But looking at non-racing events, needs of the racecourse and the local you, hotel accommodation. The racecourses generally host conferences, area. It’s a great asset for the town, as combination is a growing feature, and weddings, exhibitions and parties, so well as for our business. next on the list is Doncaster, which having everything under one roof makes “The Windsor hotel will be on stilts, opened its new Hilton Garden Inn facility you an attractive proposition. because the site is on a potential in time for the William Hill St Leger Planning permission for a 100-bed flood plain,” Spincer explains, “and will meeting. hotel and 32 apartments was granted in be a longer build than Doncaster, 70 The benefits of bringing an all-year- March 2007 by the local council, which weeks, based on the fact we race on round hotel facility on to a racecourse at the time owned the racecourse in a more Mondays, which causes greater site are enormous, says Mark joint venture with Arena Leisure. disruption. Spincer, group operations director Taking on the Hilton brand “was very “We wanted to get Doncaster opened for Doncaster’s owner, Arena Racing important,” Spincer says. “We felt Hilton before we settled on a brand partner at Company, which already has similar Garden Inn was the right fit for the Windsor.