More people need to go racing

(A Grand Day Out: The National should be a selling point to potential race-goers)

Come Racing For Free


Not enough people go racing.


This is a fact and is something a new organisation called Racing For Change is attempting to change. Alongside the British Horse Racing Authority the two organisations are looking at marketing strategies and promotions in order to attract a new generation to the races. Unfortunately I believe they may be going about it the wrong way.


By all means, market the races as much as you can, we want to see posters, flyers, television advertising etc but there is still not enough being done. Thankfully a campaign running at the end of April for two weeks sees the ability for anyone to go racing for free with a number of race courses offering free entry to the meetings. I have personally signed up for the Doncaster meeting on the 30th and it won't cost me a penny.


The problem is that racing has a label attached, it has a stigma which is that of old men, seedy betting shops, and boring monotonous commentators (no offence intended to those excellent racing commentators). In order to attract new audiences officials need to appeal to younger generations, they need to believe that going racing is cool. At the moment it is expensive, difficult to get to as it is in various locations all over the country every day, the average person does not know the importance of handicaps,listed racing, graded, maidens, sellers, hurdles, fences, national hunt, flat, bumpers, novices etc. This needs to be addressed first in order for people to understand what exactly it is that is being marketed to them.


Think how a younger member of society would think, do not rely on racing to attract drunks and stag and hen parties. Of course these groups should attend and have every right of attending but the consequence of this clientele provides potential race-goers with a picture of the type of people who go to the races and the purposes of their being there. Appeal to people who love the sport and do this by informing them how it works.

Bookmakers are another reason why people are put off, it's all well and good talking about decimal systems which will attract younger audiences instead of traditional fractional odds, but what difference will this make. Children at school are still taught fractions as well as decimals, and even the younger generation has an element of maintaining tradition about them. They understand how to separate fractions, of course after this it may become a little more complicated and a case remains for the introduction of a decimal system which will be ideal and provide absolutely no use for the prospect of mathematics while enjoying the deliberation over which bookmaker has the best price. But it is not only this which puts people off, already the price of travelling and entry has swayed people away from the races, but when they see on course bookmakers with £5 minimum bet signs and even £2 minimums the average person who has a family with them and it already suffering after the recession is not going to risk even a fiver to place on horse. These rules should be changed to make people want to put 50p each way on as part of the enjoyment of a day at the races, it should not cost the fortune it does, and that is why people will not go and diminishing numbers are being recorded.


Racing For Change and the British Horse Racing Authority need to address the problems they have with addressing the younger generations who we will eventually rely on if this sport is going to exist.