Half-year attendance figures in Britain a 'cause for optimism' in difficult economic climate

A 3.9 per cent fall in the number of people who went racing in Britain through the first six months of the year has been dubbed a "cause for optimism" given the continuing buffeting from economic headwinds the public faces. 

The Racecourse Association believes underlying trends are even more encouraging, having worked out what it considers to be the specific cost to attendances of abandonments early in the year and a prolonged series of labour disputes affecting public transport.

The total number or racegoers for the first half of the year fell by 3.9 per cent, while the average gate on Britain's racecourses is down by 3.1 per cent in the same period.