Ascot CEO on Royal meet, pooling media rights and the best of Britain Sport Business The chief executive of Ascot Racecourse has suggested major horse racing meets could pool their media rights to compete with rival sports. The 300-year-old Royal Ascot festival returns to Berkshire next week with record prize money and 300,000 fans expected over five days of racing. And chief executive Felicity Barnard has floated the idea of [...]
Epsom Derby set for mega crowd as fans flock to The Hill Sport Business The attendance at this weekend’s Epsom Derby will be nearly double last year’s haul as brighter weather and entertainment evolution draws back crowds. Attendances at the staple flat race have not been above 30,000 since 2022 and haven’t topped 40,000 since 2017 but the Jockey Club is expecting to surpass that number this weekend as [...]
Report calls for overhaul of horse racing betting industry Sport Business A new report has called for an overhaul of the horse racing betting industry as the sport looks to capture a new audience. The Spotlight Sports Group report, The Horse Racing Audience Opportunity, says that “the sport should concentrate on intuitive betting formats that are easy to understand and move away from offering solely those [...]
Ascot quits Racecourse Association as Jockey Club sets ultimatum May 4, 2026 Ascot chiefs have quit the Racecourse Association after the industry body failed to resolve “structural governance concerns” to its satisfaction. The Jockey Club, Ascot, Goodwood, Newbury and York racecourses wrote to the RCA to demand changes earlier this year. The Jockey Club has given the RCA more time to deliver reforms but Ascot has served [...]
Constitution Hill flat racing switch helps horse racing attendances surge April 20, 2026 Former Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill’s shift to the flat has been cited for an increase in horse racing attendances across the UK. Nearly 700,000 people attended a British racecourse in the first quarter of 2026, up nearly five per cent on last year and up on 2024. With hard numbers fueled by a huge [...]
Grand National: Polanski slammed for £4bn racing industry suggestion April 10, 2026 Green leader Zack Polanski has been slammed ahead of the Grand National for wanting to ban horse racing. The politician said in 2024 that the country should “remove all animals involved in sport”, in a move that would end the £4bn horse racing industry, see a conclusion to iconic British staples such as the Cheltenham [...]
Rooftop hospitality at Cheltenham Festival after £100m Jockey Club deal March 16, 2026 The Jockey Club has agreed a £100m investment deal with Levy in a move that will see major upgrades to the Cheltenham Festival and Epsom Derby. The agreement, with the sport division of Compass Group, will span 20 years and see the Jockey Club seek to enhance the “spectator experience across their UK racecourses”. Chief [...]