ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2017

This is the last in a series of four articles on the history of British racecourses and their struggle for economic prosperity. It focuses on Towcester – an independent, and a prime example of the diversity of British racecourses which add greatly to the charm and popularity of British racing.

Jump racing at Towcester Racecourse is as different a sport to its blue blooded Flat equivalent on the wide open spaces of Newmarket Heath or its less aristocratic all-weather competition around the tight oval of the Lingfield track as it is as possible to conceive. But then National Hunt racing is often considered a sport whereas the Flat with its bloodstock potential is seen as a business.

Visual comparisons with all-weather racing might be made with Formula 1 at the flat Nurburgring circuit after the switch in 1984 from its much longer “North loop” track which featured 1,000 feet of elevation change from its lowest to highest points and was nicknamed “The Green Hell”. The Green Hell it may have been but for sheer excitement it was difficult to replicate. Some might say that watching a race around Towcester offers the same visual entertainment. Its tricky downhill fences, relatively tight turns and gruelling uphill four furlongs finish rising over 600 feet often provide the possibility of a myriad of different results. It is a spectacle for the few thousand racegoers, who regularly attend its events perched in the grandstand at the course’s highest point, which is difficult to match. Unless of course you prefer a different background of the wooded intricacies of Cartmel, the spectacular Sussex downlands of Goodwood or the stunning sheep-grazing scenery of Hexham some 9000 feet above sea level. All of these are examples of independent racecourses. The popularity of British racing – it is the UK’s second largest spectator sport – owes much to the rich topographical diversity of its courses and the differing racing conditions they provide. It is a unique feature of the sport in the UK which racing needs to cherish.

Towcester Racecourse is a part of the Easton Neston estate situated alongside the Roman built Watling Street in southern Northamptonshire. In some ways it is a relic of the past as it was created by a peer of the realm, Lord Hesketh, within his own grounds so he could watch and pursue a sport which – along with his interest in Formula 1 – was transformed from a personal hobby into a commercial venture.

National Hunt racing first took place at the 1 3/4 mile right handed track in 1928 and it is probably fair to say commercial success has been a constant struggle ever since. The main reason behind its ongoing battle is the 18 fixtures planned for the forthcoming season compared with the 39 at Newmarket’s two courses and the 83 at Lingfield’s dual tracks. Additionally, as a small independent, the course cannot draw upon centrally negotiated contracts, benefit from group economies of scale or have the capacity to hold lucrative late night pop concerts. Management have therefore been forced to seek different means of seeking additional profitability:

• Since 2002 entry on most race days has been free – the proposition being that increased numbers will lead to increased catering profitability. That attendance has increased is undoubtedly true but it is highly unlikely that the rise in catering profitability has offset the loss of gate money. Average racegoer expenditure per visit on food and drink just is not high enough.
• In 2014, after an investment in the course and its facilities of a reported £7.5 million, a greyhound track was opened. Greyhound meetings take place on two or three days per week and are an intelligent way of extending commercial use of Towcester’s existing grandstand and catering facilities. Whether venturing into a sport which is in long term decline will be financially successful is however less certain and the jury is still out in terms of its profitability. In the early 1950s there were over 100 greyhound tracks. By 2016 this had fallen to just over 20. In 1946 34 million people attended dog racing fixtures during the year. This has now dropped to just over 2 million per annum. So Towcester is scarcely tapping into a growth industry!
• Entertainment is a constant theme – whether it be weddings, conferences or corporate exhibitions – and Towcester goes out of its way to feature original raceday previews and analysis through the vibrant double act of Roger Hart and Matt Chapman. They provide an educational and fun element to proceedings which other tracks might well emulate.

None of this hides the struggle which independents such as Towcester face in generating sufficient return on assets. In 2014 Towcester took the decision to sell seven of its more lucrative fixtures to Arena Racing Company in a deal believed to be worth nearly £1 million. The fixtures sold represented seven of the eight best-attended meetings at the track in 2013. It included its Boxing Day card, which attracted 7,200 racegoers and was itself purchased from Newton Abbot for £450,000 in 2000. Management would no doubt argue that this was done as part of the track’s movement into greyhound racing which provides much greater flexibility in race planning. Nevertheless the result is that National Hunt racing at Towcester has few if any fixture highlights and a limited number of days which attract sizeable crowds.

The future of Towcester as a racecourse must remain in question. Probably the best outcome would be for it to be subsumed into one of the main groups – Arena Racing or Jockey Club Racecourses – as then it would at least enjoy their economies of scale and have a greater ability to rebuild its National Hunt programme. But with neither group having shown any appetite to get involved in greyhound racing nor any likelihood of planning permission for a hotel (although questionable, the potential is mentioned in the town development plan) or house building, this possibility is probably an outside bet.

Racing in the UK – and therefore racecourses in general – remains vibrant. Over six million people attended the races in 2016, nearly 10% of all spectators who attended a UK sporting event during that year. Racing is the only sport which can justify a bespoke daily newspaper in the Racing Post. In 2016 the Jockey Club delivered its eighth successive year of turnover growth to a record £191.5 million, up by 4.5% year-on-year. This converted into the group’s largest-ever operating profit of £22.6 million. All the group’s profitability is ploughed back into racing.

Racecourses might therefore be said to mirror the words of Harold Macmillan to ‘never have had it so good’. They face challenges however which probably have never been greater – the threat to bookmakers’ profits through government review and its effect on contribution to prize money, the recent decline in the number of horses in training and the increase in total fixtures, and all-weather racing taking an ever increasing percentage of that fixture list enhancing the potential dumbing down of the product offering.

Interesting times ahead then – particularly for the small independent!