Field sizes up in Britain - but too early to credit Premier racing warns racecourse leader

Field sizes in Britain continued to grow in the first half of 2024 with a strong uptick in races featuring more than eight runners, but Racecourse Association chief David Armstrong warned it was too early to claim the figures were a "slam dunk" for the sport's recent strategy initiatives.

Statistics from January 1 to June 30 show an average field size of 8.85 across fixtures in Britain, an increase from last year's figure of 8.57 during the same period and 8.24 in 2022. 

The figure improves to 9.08 for Flat races, the highest average since 2019 and the second highest of the last decade, compared to a jumps field average of 8.5, which was also up from last year.