We're on a mission to bring crowds (and horses) back to point-to-point - and this is how we're going to do it
The chief executive of the Point-to-Point Authority on a big season for the grassroots of British racing
It is an exciting time for point-to-point racing, with a new season just days away. Here at the Point-to-Point Authority, we are particularly excited to be trialling several new initiatives aimed at modernising and promoting the grassroots of the sport in Britain.
I've been in the role of chief executive of the Point-to-Point Authority for just over a year. I'm a lifelong racing fan who has enjoyed pointing as a racing club and syndicate owner in recent years. I have the opportunity to utilise my expertise in recruitment, resource management and consultancy to create positive change within the sport, and I'm confident we are approaching the new season with momentum.
We brought all of our marketing in-house in March and online our numbers have gone through the roof, with our unique users increasing from 240,000 a year ago to 1.1 million. That's precisely what we want and, by getting in front of a larger audience, hopefully more people will want to come through the gates of our racecourses.
If marketing is where our growth is going to come from, our central pressure rests on a declining population of horses. However, I'm hopeful that a number of the initiatives we will trial this season can start to address this issue.
Around ten per cent of horses running under rules started in point-to-points, which is a relatively small percentage compared to the Irish model, and we must increase this.
The £250,000 GB Pointing Bonus that is funded by the Levy Board is focused on encouraging more horses to start in four- and five-year-old maidens in points before progressing to race under rules and hopefully rising to the top of the tree in British racing.
The first in what will be a 15-race series will take place on the opening day of the season at Lower Machen on Sunday, with the winner of each race qualifying for a bonus of £25,000 (GB-bred) or £15,000 (non-GB-bred) if going on to success in selected races under rules.
We will also introduce two further series this season: one for horses with a lifetime rating below 110 under rules and a new hands-and-heels series for novice riders.
The 0-110 series will enable horses who have become uncompetitive under rules to be dropped into pointing, allowing us to boost our horse numbers while also giving the horse a chance to regain competitiveness. That will be a ten-race series with a hunter chase final at Warwick in May, and we definitely want to play to both older horses coming down the system and younger horses on the way up.
The hands-and-heels series is one of several initiatives aimed at reversing a decline in rider numbers. We're already trying to make the entry cost for young riders as cheap as possible, and we've subsidised the riders' qualification certificate and their jockey coaching assessment. It is also an educational series and reinforces pointing as the grassroots of British racing. If a series like this is successful, nothing is stopping the wider racing industry from adopting something similar if it wishes.
We've had record crowds for the last two seasons and even the fixtures that haven't set new records have seen bumper crowds, so there's definitely an appetite for pointing. What I want now is to bring the sport in front of an even wider audience.
When I first attended a point-to-point fixture it felt like a closed shop for older people dressed in tweed. However, upon getting behind the scenes and examining our demographics, it's not actually like that. If racegoers enjoy their day out, which we are confident they will, they are more likely to attend multiple fixtures. With 25 per cent of our racegoers under the age of 18, some of them will also want to get involved with horses.
Over the last few years, there has definitely been a disconnect between pointing and racing under rules, with pointing operating in its own little sphere and the rest of racing in another. We've worked really hard over the past 12 months to break that down and it is working.
Historically, point-to-pointing has been positioned as the grassroots of the sport, but that's not been shouted about or reinforced enough in recent years. That's where we've positioned ourselves and we're keen to build better relationships across the racing industry.
Racing TV is already looking to take a weekly point-to-point slot on Saturday mornings and a weekly video preview. Getting in front of this vital audience is a significant achievement for us and, with our new bonus series, we'll have plenty of compelling stories to share.
No silver bullet is going to grow our numbers and immediately put us in front of a wider audience, but we're going to try lots of different things over a period of time. Some will work and others won't, but what I like is that we're starting with a clean slate, given pointing hasn't tried any new initiatives for a long time.
The real beauty of pointing is that it offers a unique experience to each person. It's less formal than going racing under rules and appeals to a family taking a picnic in the same way that it appeals to a couple who want to walk their dog around the course.
Pointing allows you to get much closer to everything and those are the elements we really want to play to this season.
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Published on inPaul Miller
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