More viewers, fewer racegoers – an up and down week at York

What you lose at the turnstiles you more than make up for on the sofa – that was the number crunchers' verdict on the Ebor meeting at York.

A total attendance of 80,478 was a little more than 3,000 less than last year, but that was attributed to the heavy rain that put some off on Wednesday.

York chief executive William Derby said: "We went into the day 12 per cent up on pre-sales but it wasn't a day to turn up and pay on the gate and we were 3,000 down on last year. There was a biblical storm between 10am and 12pm.

"Viewing figures were through the roof on Wednesday and I think that was a combination of people staying at home and the fascinating clash that the racing offered."

Ratings and audience share on the Wednesday and Thursday of ITV's first year of coverage were significantly up on Channel 4 figures for 2016 – although that was in competition with the Olympics in Rio.

On Wednesday and Thursday, when Cracksman, Ulysses and Enable were the big-race winners, ITV drew an average of 500,000, peaking at 600,000 and an audience share of nine per cent.

That audience share was higher than Channel 4 drew for the Ebor meeting across the term of its contract, and the average audience figures on Wednesday and Thursday were higher than any figure Channel 4 lured apart from the Saturday in 2013 and 2014, when they attracted 552,000 and 556,000.

Last year on the Wednesday, Channel 4's average audience was 147,000, with a 2.3 per cent share, while on the Thursday it was 215,000 and 3.2 per cent.

Derby said: "I'm really pleased for the ITV team, who put so much effort and investment into the meeting. They worked incredibly hard and a lot of people I've spoken to said they captured the atmosphere and magic of the racing incredibly well.

"And I'm pleased for racing. If more people are watching it and hopefully being bitten by the bug, that's great for the sport."

But Derby ruled out thoughts of adding a fifth race to ITV's live coverage, saying: "I don't think that's in our or their thinking.

"It's fantastic that two of the races are live and exclusive on Racing UK – three on Saturday – and to finish each of the days on ITV with the flagship race made for a tremendous crescendo."

He also defended ITV's Matt Chapman, whose flamboyant on-course hosting of big-race presentations has not been to every taste.

Matt Chapman: fancies Neon Wolf for the NeptuneCredit: Patrick McCann

The presenter was on mic duty in the winner's enclosure for the Group 1 events, and Derby said: "It's important we showcase the achievements in the big races and show the presentation in the best light.

"Matt adds a showmanship to that ceremony – we're an entertainment business and I think that's important on the big occasions."

Q&A WITH WILLIAM DERBY

There was £4.4 million in prize-money across the four days and no race was worth less than £70,000. Can that level get any higher?

It's a huge investment by the course, a 50 per cent increase in the last five years, and we believe it's important to put up the best prize-money we can to attract the best horses for people to enjoy. If people enjoy the racing and facilities we hope they'll come back, so we see investment rather than expenditure. As a politician once said, there's no magic money tree and the only reason we can continue to improve prize-money is if we can continue to be successful, which relies on the talents of our team to deliver a raceday; the tremendous support we have from our partners, broadcast, media, catering, cleaning, etc; and if people continue to visit, watch and bet on racing at York. If we continue to be successful, we can continue to invest in our race programme.

Having only six races on the first three days makes for a relatively early finish. Are you tempted to add a seventh?

We're not looking to extend the race programme. We were delighted with the shape of the races, we had an increase in runners, and York had the highest average field size of any course in Britain in 2016. We know how important that is for the betting industry and we play our part in delivering compelling, competitive racing. People stayed behind to enjoy fabulously sunny evenings. We had a band on after racing, they finished about 7pm, the bars close then and the site was clear about 8pm.

Were you disappointed not to have attracted any runners from continental Europe?

We've had runners from France and Germany at other meetings this year and we've had super runners from France in the past. I think we attracted the best horses in Europe to race and that's our criteria. We were thrilled with the quality of the action. Wesley Ward's three runners, including the highest-rated three-year-old in America, added another dimension to the meeting and were a tremendous asset.

What is happening to the course enclosure next year?

We're making a £5 million investment in it. It was a challenge to get through planning because it's a green belt area, it's a flood plain and there's a Listed building involved. We'll start work in the autumn and we hope to get an element of it done by the Dante meeting next year. It should be finished by the end of 2018.

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