Rethink needed on boosting crowds, but that won't be easy as The Hundred shows

Stuart Riley takes a look at the latest dip in British racing's attendances

If once is a blip and twice is a pattern, then four consecutive years of decline is an alarming trend. Half a million fewer people came through racing's turnstiles in 2019 compared to 2015 and as a headline number that is disturbing enough.

But the key here is in the average attendance, which has dropped to 3,898 per meeting from 4,256 in the same time period. A greater number of cancellations can be cited as affecting the total figure, although there were also three fewer fixtures in 2015.