Tired, unlovely and unloved: work needed to bring back missing thousands to Kempton
The biggest mystery of this season's Ladbrokes King George VI Chase was not how did Hewick come from an impossible position to win, but how has Kempton managed to lose thousands of customers?
An attendance fall for a major raceday was nothing new in 2023. Every day at the Cheltenham, Grand National and Derby festivals was watched on course by fewer people than in 2022, while only the Wednesday of Royal Ascot was up year on year. There was certainly better news for some other high-profile days, but nowhere has an exodus been so stark and sustained as at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The Jockey Club on Tuesday reported a crowd of 11,703, marginally up on the 11,318 of 2022 and the previous year's 11,578. In itself, that sounded positive, but an analysis of those numbers against the four years preceding the pandemic should send a shiver down the sport's spine.
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- The numbers that tell a powerful story about British prize-money - and they might come as a surprise
- The Grand National has changed for the better - and how anyone can moan about Saturday’s race is beyond me
- Racing has been bold, brave and confident - the big worry for the sport is the rest is politics
- Racing leaders face huge decisions - but could any amount of money justify relinquishing control of the crown jewels?
- The Jockey Club knows how it is perceived and wants to change - but that change must happen faster
- The numbers that tell a powerful story about British prize-money - and they might come as a surprise
- The Grand National has changed for the better - and how anyone can moan about Saturday’s race is beyond me
- Racing has been bold, brave and confident - the big worry for the sport is the rest is politics