Racing must urgently reassess how it sells itself, warns sport's top marketeer

British racing has been urged to work harder to improve the experience of racegoers and create greater retention among the sport's fanbase.

Rod Street, chief executive of Great British Racing (GBR) and one of the architects behind the success of British Champions Day, believes there is plenty for racing to be proud of in the way it promotes itself, but accepts more needs to be done to "grow fans of the future".

He specified the need to tailor the raceday experience towards sport's key participants such as the horses and jockeys, while also arguing events such as post-racing concerts are "crucial" to the financial health of racecourses and a fundamental way of creating new, long-term supporters.

This theme was explored by the Racing Post's Chris Cook on Monday, and Street agrees more can be done to ensure racegoers leave the track with a strong desire to return, saying "every person coming through the gate on a raceday is an opportunity to create a fan".

He said: "Racing is a small church, we look at the sport through our own lens and we feel it should be promoted the way we see it. But if we want the sport to grow for the benefit of all, our stakeholders – racecourses, horsemen, media companies, bookmakers etc – must work together. We could be a whole lot more joined up in terms of marketing to create more layers of interest.

"We need to think about what kind of experiences people are having on a racecourse that encourage their interest in racing and we need to create more urgency around this. If we want to grow fans of the future, we have to contextualise the racing experience to make it more about the horses and the jockeys.

Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand: part of a growing number of young, engaging personalities in racingCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I would argue we have never been better placed as a sport to have our participants tell our story so well. It wasn't that long ago that it was incredibly difficult to get jockeys out of the weighing room to engage with any media. Now there are any number of young, engaging participants."

He added: "I co-promote one event a year, which is British Champions Day, where we have things like fan zones and lots of racing attractions that get people up close and personal with the sport. We have autograph sessions where racegoers can meet the stars and it's these extra experiences which create a long-lasting connection."

The importance of non-raceday experiences such as visits to training yards was also highlighted and the upcoming National Racehorse Week, which will see more than 100 trainers across the country open their stable doors to the public, is seen as another positive step.

Street is happy with GBR and racing's ability to attract a wide audience outside of its core fanbase, but there is concern over the retention of that audience, with GBR research showing 60-70 per cent of people who attend one raceday do not return.

He said: "We know from data analysis that our churn rate of people who come one year but not the next is between 60-70 per cent. We do a good job of engaging and attracting people, but we have a bigger challenge with retention.

"We mustn't completely beat ourselves up about that because the competition for people's time is fierce. We have to accept that racing will remain a peripheral sport for many people, which is why we need to get so many people in at the top of the funnel to create that small core at the base.

"Every person coming through the gate on a raceday is an opportunity to create a fan and we should do everything we can to retain them."

Post-racing concerts have long been used to attract bigger crowds, but they have attracted controversy in recent weeks for their perceived contribution to anti-social behaviour, such as excessive drinking, drug taking and fighting at racecourses.

Street acknowledged the problems racing faces on that front, but was keen to stress the benefits such events can have in transforming casual supporters of racing into passionate ones, and believes the fostering of a more family-friendly environment would lower the likelihood of anti-social behaviour.

"It's not realistic to think racecourses shouldn't promote the social aspect because it's a huge asset and that includes the concerts and events they put on," he said. "They are crucial to the financial health of the tracks to allow them to invest in other things.

"Racing has a broad audience and what we see consistently in consumer research is that a day at the races scores very highly in terms of the experience and people love it for different reasons. Some people will love it because they have seen a concert and have been able to put a few quid on and have a few drinks, and that's perfectly fine.

"Whatever the reason for them coming, we should see them as a potential long-term customer and do everything we can to retain them.

"We need to double down on what we mean by social behaviour and anti-social behaviour. Of course, there needs to be zero tolerance of any anti-social behaviour and I think racecourses are taking it very seriously.

"Behaviour is often modified by the environment. The more family friendly the environment, the less likely it is people will feel they can behave badly. It's not easy, and there is a sad reality that some of the unacceptable things we see on a racecourse are reflective of society.

"I couldn't be more aware of these serious challenges, but I'm very optimistic about the sport, its offering and the broad number of people we can reach."

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The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a three-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday