Meet the group 'hammering on doors' to encourage students to go to Cheltenham

Students made up more than a quarter of Saturday's record crowd at Cheltenham and the event experience group behind the success believe that signals the huge potential to get more young people racing.

Racecourse attendance figures in Britain have slumped and Cheltenham's crowd on the opening day of their season on Friday was 8,590, a drop of 29 per cent on 2019 and the lowest for an October raceday at the track in 22 years.

But on Saturday the crowd of 19,471 was up ten per cent on three years ago and was the best since the meeting moved to a Friday and Saturday 15 years ago.

Around 5,000 students from eight universities took up the package put on by organisers Invades. For prices of between £25 and £29, it included a ticket for the Best Mate enclosure, return bus travel from university accommodation and access to a student party during and after racing.

The website offering the Cheltenham experience reportedly registered over 40,000 online page views, suggesting interest is at an all-time high.

It was the company's biggest event, having increased their offering from smaller midweek fixtures to make experience packages available at the likes of Ascot, York and Aintree.

Invades' founder and managing director Dominic Matcham said: "It was just so good and worked well. We were separate in the Best Mate which was great because the members want a different experience to the students. We still offered an upgrade [to Club or Tattersalls] for £5 or £8 so they could get the best of both experiences.

Cheltenham: on Saturday the crowd of 19,471 was up ten per cent on three years agoCredit: Edward Whitaker

"A lot of our customers wouldn’t say they’re racing fans but entertainment fans. They want a new type of music and racing experience and it creates a new energy on course.

"It was our biggest event but the potential still is incredible. We were capped at 5,000 so going forward I want to keep the numbers going up. I know in Ireland the students get 10,000 to 12,000 tickets and so next year we can definitely do that."

Matcham believes an excellent understanding of the demographic has been crucial to the company's success since starting in 2019. Invades take advantage of the latest social media trends, influencers and good relationships with university societies to gain traction.

"We’re hammering down doors to bring people racing and making it as easy, cheap and good as it can be," he said. "With the rail strikes at the moment it makes it hard to get anywhere.

"There’s not many 18-year-olds waking up and thinking about a day at Cheltenham but if you pick them up from their accommodation, take them racing and then home again then they’ll go.

"We know our audience really well and we approach marketing differently to any racecourse, who have to be fairly neutral so they don't alienate anyone. Invades is very much targeted at that 18-26 customer and what's considered cool for an 18-year-old is vastly different to someone who's 40."

He also added to criticism of the price increases for pints at the racecourse, and the general 50p rise from the Cheltenham Festival was described as "scandalous" by some racegoers on Saturday.

"It’s definitely something that needs to be addressed as we’re in a cost of living crisis," Matcham added. "We’re trying to get young people into venues and the races and you don’t want them thinking that it’s a really expensive experience and ultimately put them off.

"The challenge is all the costs are going up, but it’s difficult to pin that on a racecourse or catering company. Inflation is up 10 per cent, everything is going up."

Cheltenham boss Ian Renton was delighted with the turnout and said: "It’s been great, we’re very happy. It is nice to see so many students here, I really hope they enjoyed the day and can be racegoers of the future.

"I went over there and it’s clear they had a fantastic time, it’s lovely to see the enthusiasm and they seemed to be having a great day. It’s what’s racing is all about."

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