RACING FOR CHANGE ANNUAL REVIEW 2011 INTRODUCTION

RACING FOR CHANGE ANNUAL REVIEW 2011
PROMOTING HORSERACING TO STUDENTS
Horseracing has a loyal fan base but it’s considerably older than other
comparable sports, with seven out of ten customers aged 46 years or
over. This needs to be addressed urgently if we are to guarantee a secure,
long-term future for the sport.
Much is now being done to address this,
including a major campaign to market racing
more effectively to university students. When
RfC started this project in 2010, there was only
one university racing club in existence. By the
beginning of 2011, we’d grown this number to
22, with six new campus racing clubs launching
during the year.
Our first task has been to identify students with
a racing interest that are sufficiently keen to set
up a club on campus. We then provide them with
advice and marketing assistance to help them
start their club.
Feedback from ‘racing ambassadors’ on campus
suggests that it’s the social aspects of a university
racing club that’s the biggest draw for first year
students, based around raceday trips with their
mates. This is one of the main reasons why we’ve
preferred to develop local clubs rather than a
national ‘student racing’ entity. However, we
strongly support the Student Racing magazine,
produced by Mike Spence and Alex Bell, as it
gives our ambassadors a regular and relevant
publication to distribute to club members.
During last year’s Freshers’ Week, we provided
racing clubs with 1,500 goody bags as well as
literature, posters and other display material.
Once term time began, we helped club
ambassadors to organise trips to the races and
stable visits.
In 2011, 33 Racecourses provided discounted
tickets or free entry for students from university
racing clubs. Some of these trips have proved
particularly popular. Liverpool University Racing
Club took 70 students to Aintree, with Glasgow
University taking 25 to Ayr and UCL organising
a trip for 30 students to British Champions Day
at Ascot.
Several Racecourses have now agreed
permanent offers for local students, and some
university clubs are proving particularly active.
The Birmingham racing club has organised
three racing trips since term began, taking in
Cheltenham, Wolverhampton and Warwick.
Exeter has also been busy with a trip to Paul
Nicholls’ yard, and a day at Wincanton races.
Club ambassadors have also been actively
promoting the sport in their campus magazines
and newspapers. One such article in The
Oxford Student newspaper was based around a
two-page interview with AP McCoy. The
Champion Jump Jockey and other Horsemen
have also engaged with the student racing clubs
on course, adding to the excitement of their day.
In 2012, our racing ambassadors will also be
eligible to apply for a Chartered Institute
of Marketing certificate, provided they’ve
undertaken certain important tasks during the
year relating to their club’s promotion. This
should help us grow our club base further as CIM
awards are valued by employers.
One of the other ways that we boosted university
racing club membership in 2011 was via the
leasing of a racehorse with Tim Vaughan, called
Tae Kwon Do. We ran a competition among
students to be one of the 200 owners of the
horse, with us paying all the costs and the
students sharing any winnings. The new owners
were invited to see him run, to visit Tim’s yard,
and to receive regular updates on his progress.
However, their biggest thrill was to witness his
victory at Fontwell Park, and to receive a share of
the prize money.
Although students are a major target, they’re
not the only younger adults that we’re trying to
reach. Much of our editorial work is aimed at
the younger media and, through them, younger
adults in all sectors of society.
Bristol University students enjoying a day’s racing at Cheltenham
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