How can we solve the under-30’s under-appreciation of racing?

Joe and Olly
COVID 19 has created real challenges for many UK businesses and racecourses with a lot of issues being raised recently about the lack of prize money on offer in the UK and major concerns around the future of horse racing. Whilst these are genuine short-term issues, another question posed is whether enough of the younger generation are being attracted to racing, allowing for the sustainability, future growth, and continuation of the sport? As final-year university students who have a real passion and love for horse racing, it has become very apparent that we are very much the minority.  

Building Interest

Despite many efforts to get our friends to sit down with us on a Saturday and watch a competitive afternoon’s racing from Cartmel, they would still rather watch Jeff Stelling covering the 3pm kickoffs. Granted, it can’t be expected that all young people will enjoy the sport, however, the great lack of interest and understanding of the sport is clearly of concern. Horse racing authorities need to find new ways of attracting newcomers to the sport and helping to grow interest in the game.  

The Younger Generation

One event we came across which we believed would be very beneficial in inviting people into the world of National Hunt racing was run by a company called Invades, who among many other functions, offer to take groups of university students on a day out at the races, providing tickets, transport and reduced-priced drinks. Whilst Aintree racecourse was very well attended, it became very clear that the vast majority were merely there to get hammered with their pals and take a few pictures suited and booted. By the time the penultimate race came around, the betting ring had turned into something of a ghost town, with the majority of racegoers queuing up at the bar, seemingly unaware that they were in fact at a racecourse, and not their local Wetherspoons. Their loss, we thought. Perhaps if they had sacrificed a bit of time in the cover and warmth of the Princess Royal Stand and had braved the ever-expected wind and rain of the North West, they could have shared a rare day of successful punting.

Aintree Grand National Crowds

 

Racepass 18 to 24

In terms of what is being done to promote and appeal horse racing to teenagers and young adults is The Jockey Club’s ‘Racepass 18 to 24’. The purpose of this is to offer race days, from the Grand National and the Cheltenham Festival, to cards at lesser-known tracks such as Market Rasen, at a reduced price. While this is a great initiative, it is not widely advertised, meaning young people are not able to capitalise on these well-priced days out at the races, and hopefully kickstarting their interest in the sport. This has the potential to be a catalyst for introducing the younger generation to racing, although it must be further advertised on social media and on television in order to reach the desired demographic.  

ITV Racing

Good work is also being done by ITV Racing, with their weekly coverage of the racing. Prior to 2017, Channel 4 had the rights to televise the meetings which was fronted by your stereotypical ageing, white men in tweed jackets. While this was ideal for die-hard followers, it was rather exclusive and was not inviting for those who were new to the sport. However, ITV has revamped the weekend showcase of the coverage, with a diverse and fresh-faced team, and an inclusive and energetic dynamic. Features such as the Social Stable entice the younger audience to interact with those in the industry, and the introduction of youthful and better-known presenters, to the general public, has changed many people’s outlook on horse racing television.  

Ideas

A further proposal to get more young people into racing could be for bigger racecourses who are hosting the meetings with added interest to invite a high-profile analyst or tipster to preview the day’s card. Through this, a lot of people who have never understood racecards can be educated on the process of reading them, analysing the form, and hopefully finding some winners. Not only will this potentially greaten people’s interest in horse racing, but also ties in with this week’s Safer Gambling campaign, as the now educated racegoers of the future will be more informed on the fine art of picking out a winner.  

Is Horse Racing on the Decline?

As we have stated earlier, racecourses and the industry itself is in desperate need of customers returning to courses time and time again, having a genuine interest in the sport, and not just by putting a few quid behind the bar. While we clearly are not concerned that the demise of horse racing is imminent, more has to be done going forward, by not just the racing elite, but also the general, everyday supporter. From experience, we are certainly conscious of the difficulties of this process, but hopefully one day, by miracle, we shall see a maximum capacity crowd at Cartmel, full of avid racing youngsters.

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