How improved crowds at major summer meetings have helped power the recovery of British racing's attendances

Strong performances from several of the summer's major meetings helped power the continued recovery in British racing's attendance figures, with the months July to September posting a solid 4.5 per cent increase on 2024. 

But the rise was not just restricted to the high-profile events, with figures released by the Racecourse Association (RCA) showing that, while the likes of Glorious Goodwood and the York Ebor meeting made important contributions to the improved picture, the recovery is being felt at smaller tracks as well. 

A total of 1,679,386 people walked through the gates of a British racecourse during the crucial third quarter, a rise of 72,925 on last year's disappointing figures. 

A prolonged spell of warm and dry weather in July and August undoubtedly helped the numbers, with RCA chief executive David Armstrong saying the figures proved the key summer festivals "resonate with our customers". 

Among the marquee fixtures staged over the summer, Goodwood attracted more than 10,000 additional racegoers across the five days of its biggest meeting for an 11 per cent increase, while Newmarket's July festival was up 5.9 per cent and York's Ebor festival rose by 2.9 per cent. While the weather was less cooperative in September, both Doncaster and Ayr posted increases in excess of four per cent. 

However, the story goes deeper than the highest-profile events at major tracks, with the RCA pointing to the success of Beverley's biggest meeting of the year, the ladies' night that falls on a Wednesday in mid-August, putting almost 900 more on the gate than last year, a crowd of 10,534 representing a nine per cent rise. 

The five major multi-day festivals across the three months accounted for 23 per cent of the overall rise, suggesting fixtures at smaller tracks benefited from the good weather and the hard work of marketing teams prepared to use innovative pricing offers to the public. 

Armstrong said: "It remains encouraging that attendances continue to increase across British racecourses. The Q3 figures represent the second consecutive quarter in which we have seen a clear increase, and I’m particularly enthused that the busy summer season has again proved a hit with customers.

“The quarter’s key racedays and festivals resonated with the public, with seasoned racing fans and once-a-year day trippers attending in high numbers, which demonstrates the wide appeal of these marquee events."

Beverley is one of the tracks to post a rise in attendance this summerCredit: Julie Shakesby

The 4.5 per cent rise for the period from July to September means that, after three reporting quarters, the total attendance for 2025 is 4,109,294, up 4.9 per cent on the first nine months of 2024, while early reports show that the recent two-day meeting at Newmarket and the long weekend at Chepstow both showed growth.

When the effects of what racing's leadership at the time described as the "perfect storm" of a cost-of-living crisis and declining field sizes began to bite in 2022 it led to significant falls in racecourse attendance and a 14.4 per cent drop on the last full-year results pre-Covid in 2019. 

Slightly fewer meetings were staged in 2023 through a combination of a trimming of the fixture list and weather cancellations, leading to a modest 1.43 per cent recovery in the average number of racegoers per meeting, although the total remained almost static at 4,836,406. 

In 2024 that global figure dipped slightly to 4,799,730, meaning the full-year figures in 2025 need to rise by around 4.2 per cent to break the 5,000,000 mark. 

Read more:

Seven per cent crowd increase for Future Champions Festival continues upward attendance trend at Newmarket this season 

Attendances significantly up for first Welsh Racing Festival as focus on value for money pays off 

'This is a very big moment for racing' - York chief warns next year's prize-money levels hinge on chancellor's budget 

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