Racing failing in marketing stakes as Glorious Goodwood loses attraction | Glorious Goodwood

Soon after last year’s Stewards’ Cup, the courageous – or perhaps reckless – racegoers who remained until the marquee event on the final day of Glorious Goodwood began to make their way, foot squelching along the grounds, towards the car parks or the bus queue, eager to leave the Downs after the stewards called off the rest of the card.

“It rained heavily starting from Wednesday,” recounts Adam Waterworth, the managing director of Goodwood. “Some attendees from last year may decide not to return because, frankly, their experience was quite unpleasant.

“However, we hope that this year’s fantastic week will help people remember the essence of Goodwood, allowing last year’s events to fade into the background.”

Perched on a hill just outside Chichester, Goodwood boasts breathtaking scenery, including views of the Isle of Wight on clear days, making it one of the most treasured – and marketable – venues in British Flat racing. Established by the third Duke of Richmond, who owned the sprawling Goodwood Estate encompassing 11,000 acres, the first public meeting took place in 1802, and after eight generations of nobility, it continues to attract crowds under the stewardship of the 11th Duke.

However, like most major tracks in Britain, Goodwood is experiencing lower attendance levels compared to pre-Covid figures. The attendance for the five-day Festival meeting, which typically exceeded six figures, dropped from 100,104 in 2019 to 95,359 in 2023. Waterworth noticed from advance sales in early July that this year’s total would likely mirror last year’s numbers.

On a sunny summer’s day, Goodwood truly embodies its “Glorious” reputation, a branding rich in history that many racetracks aspire to emulate. The ongoing cost-of-living crisis in Britain for the past three years certainly plays a role, but Waterworth believes that other challenges must be addressed within the sport as a whole.

“At Goodwood, we possess extensive knowledge about our visitors. We conduct in-depth postcode demographics and have a wealth of research post-meeting, analyzing who was in our database, who were newcomers, who are returning after lapses, their demographics, travel distances, and other relevant data.

“What remains challenging is understanding why people choose not to attend. I’m particularly intrigued about those who used to come five or ten years ago but have since stopped. This is a complex puzzle.

“We’ve seen a decline in betting turnover; general sports enthusiasts aren’t engaging with horse racing as they once did. Something is not resonating as strongly with the wider public as it used to.”

Waterworth emphasizes that while local racecourses can make numerous efforts, the broader challenge is to foster long-term engagement with racing, transforming an occasional racegoer into a committed follower.

“This is just my personal view,” he adds, “but in my experience, those who attended football, rugby, or cricket trips annually often developed a true passion for the sport after they stopped playing. They began betting on it regularly and attending more frequently. I wonder if we still see that trend. What will it take for those annual punters to evolve into regular fans?”

“What we truly need assistance with is amplifying our broader messaging. If more individuals within our reach were aware of the sport and open to attending, I am confident we would excel in bringing them in.”

The raceday experience on Saturday was impressive, despite the cloudy conditions replacing the earlier blazing sunshine of the first four days. The unexpected triumph of the locally trained 40-1 outsider Get It in the Stewards’ Cup was a big win for the bookmakers, but the atmosphere in the winner’s enclosure was joyous and uninhibited among his supporters.

“As a lifelong resident of Sussex, this track holds great sentimental value for me,” stated George Baker, trainer of Get It. “The Stewards’ Cup is particularly special. I had to pause multiple times while making my way to the winner’s area to collect myself; I’m almost in disbelief that we won.”

What about future plans? “Are you asking about me or the horse?” Baker quipped. “I plan on celebrating all night long!”