Two per cent rise in racecourse attendances for 2019 arrests long-term slump

Bumper Easter crowds and well-attended big meetings helped racecourse attendances rise by two per cent in the first six months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.

Courses welcomed a total of 2,801,512 racegoers, while the average attendance of 3,979 was also up by two per cent.

However, these encouraging green shoots come against the backdrop of three consecutive years of declining average attendances, according to Levy Board figures.

Average crowds at British meetings last year fell to their lowest this century. Since a rise in 2015, average attendances have fallen by 7.8 per cent.

While the big meetings such as Cheltenham, Epsom and Royal Ascot attracted increased numbers, the bottom of the pyramid made up of the winter all-weather fixtures reveal figures in stark contrast. The lowest attendance of 146 was at Southwell, while the other five lowest were all at Newcastle, three of them under 200.

LOWEST CROWDS

Thursday, March 7 Southwell AW 146
Monday, April 29 Newcastle AW 182
Monday, February 18 Newcastle AW 191
Tuesday, February 5 Newcastle AW 198
Tuesday, January 22 Newcastle AW 208
Tuesday, April 30 Newcastle AW 208

In the same period in 2018 two meetings drew crowds of less than 200, with an attendance of 171 at Newcastle in January the lowest.

Newcastle drew more than 18,000 for Northumberland Plate day at the end of June with up to 400 staff on duty, compared to just 50 at the quieter meetings.

Paul Elliott, Newcastle general manager, said: "It is difficult to get crowds in every time when you are racing so often and when it is minus three and raining heavily. But we are looking at initiatives to promote meetings."

Chelmsford City, racing's newest racecourse outfit, held up as a beacon for its prize-money levels by horsemen, is another course with ups and downs over 60 meetings a year.

Racecourse manager Fraser Garrity said: "With so many fixtures people want to know what are the highlights and themed meetings and we promote those main meetings strongly."

Sam Cone, Arena Racing Company's PR and communications manager, said: "It should be remembered that there is a huge global audience for British racing and that even if certain fixtures do not attract massive numbers on course, they are still very valuable to the wider industry in providing racing, betting and broadcast opportunities and frequently punch way above their weight in terms of sustainable and certain levy income.”

Easter has become a boon for courses since Good Friday racing was introduced and showcased the climax to the all-weather season with finals day at Lingfield.

Racing squeezed in 20 meetings over the four days of Easter holidays and this year attendances topped 100,000, with Good Friday leading the way.

While the Arc-owned tracks continually had the lowest attendances through the winter all-weather season at Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Southwell and Lingfield, when the sun came out for Easter the crowds flocked to the group's courses at Bath, as well as Lingfield and Newcastle, with decent prize-money on offer.

Bath: biggest Good Friday crowd this yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

Surprisingly Bath took top honours on the day with a crowd of 9,631, with Lingfield attracting 9,391 and Newcastle 6,855.

The Easter weekend, which was strongly marketed, saw more than 45,000 tickets sold in advance, an increase of 123 per cent on the previous year as courses pushed discounted advance sales.

David Armstrong, chief executive of the Racecourse Association, said: "I'm delighted to see the hard work of racecourses pay off and result in an increase to both the total and average attendance figures, with excellent performances by racecourses of all sizes."

The six days lost to equine flu in February were negated by the 704 meetings held this year, matching the total in the same period last year.

The monthly crowd figures for this and last year varied not only because of the equine flu shutdown but also because Easter was in March last year but fell in April this year.

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