Horse racing has long been a favoured spectator sport for a wide range of British society with thousands of people flocking to witness major races such as The Grand National and the highly glamorous Royal Ascot. Despite the prestige with which these events are regarded, they have still found it difficult to attract younger audiences.
Part of this can be thought to be linked to racing’s historic aristocratic associations that aren’t likely to make the sport attractive to modern urban audiences. And so next year’s racing season could provide a few surprises in the way in which the sport is presented.
Horse racing’s biggest event of the year is undoubtedly the Grand National. Taking place at the historic Aintree racecourse in Liverpool, the Grand National regularly attracts worldwide TV viewing figures of over 600 million. But it seems that the event’s chiefs are looking to increase this audience even further as the Coral site recently reported that the 2016’s Grand National start time will be later in a bid to win over the dinnertime viewing public.
The effort made to broaden racing’s audiences can also be seen through the introduction of many Ladies Days at our top racing events. These events frequently turn into something of a fashion showcase and regularly fill up column inches in many newspapers. And by attracting many celebrities to parade the latest styles in front of the cameras, they have become a failsafe way of increasing the exposure of the sport amongst the general public who appear to have an endless thirst for pictures of soapstars in fascinators.
The role of women in racing hasn’t been restricted to the sidelines however, as the amazing recent victory by Michelle Payne in the Melbourne Cup will undoubtedly do much to attract younger female audiences to this traditionally male sport.
And the broadening of horse racing’s appeal by making it more of a family-friendly event can also be seen at many racecourses that feature live music, as well as a range of restaurants and child-friendly attractions that aim to establish race days as not just a sporting attraction. Already the likes of the Cheltenham Festival have proved themselves invaluable to the local economy, and with racing finding ever more inventive ways to attract new audiences, it looks like this sport is onto a winner.