HORSE Racing Ireland hosted its annual racecourse seminar this week. It took place virtually over five mornings due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The theme of this year’s seminar was ‘Getting Racegoer Ready’ and featured a number of important speakers from the world of international racing and sport. The aim of the seminar was to hear how other racecourses and sports are dealing with the challenges of Covid-19, and preparing for the return of spectators.

Guest speakers were Chris Bevan, head of marketing at the Australian Turf Club (ATC), David Armstrong, CEO of the Racecourse Association (RCA) in Britain, Mark Spincer, MD of Arena Racing Company’s racing division, Dew Fleming, CEO of the Breeders’ Cup, Melanie Andresen, head of customer strategy at Victoria Racing Club, and Mark Killingley, head of digital and communications at Welsh Rugby.

Chris Bevan spoke about how well the New South Wales authorities have dealt with the pandemic, which allowed the ATC to welcome spectators, albeit in smaller numbers, for most of last year. The ATC operate four metropolitan tracks in Sydney. They created a number of ‘racing bubbles’ and entrance points to ensure minimal cross-contamination of people and participants.

Jockeys were separated into different regions; metro, north and south. They were given different jockeys’ rooms on race days, ensuring that if a jockey got Covid-19 it wouldn’t impact the entire New South Wales industry. In addition, trainers were not able to communicate in person with owners at the racetrack.

During their Spring Carnival in 2020, ATC implemented new customer offerings and price points to ensure that each racegoer had dedicated seating and table service. General admission guests were limited to zones of 300, with designated arrival points. While restricting the number of attendees impacted their turnover, Covid-19 also provided ATC with an opportunity. It gave local racing fans a reason to stay in Sydney and attend their local track instead of going on their annual pilgrimage to Melbourne!

David Armstrong and Mark Spincer recounted the huge amount of work undertaken to get their pilot project off the ground last year, resulting in the return of limited crowds to Doncaster on September 9th. The Doncaster meeting, along with smaller ones at Warwick and Hereford, have provided a blueprint for allowing the public back safely to enjoy racing again. They urged Irish racecourses to focus on communicating with all stakeholders to ensure operations run smoothly and to collect as much data on customers as possible for track and trace purposes.

Drew Fleming, president and CEO of the Breeders’ Cup, spoke about how they adapted their strategy in 2020 to provide a better ‘at home experience’ for racing fans. They used new technology to greatly enhance the fan experience. This included two jockey cams in every race, and a new contender cam which showcased up to 14 live streams at once. This allowed fans to follow specific horses from the saddling gate to the starting stalls.

Sales and marketing manager at Galway races, Sinead Cassidy, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed listening and learning from our racing and sporting colleagues from all over the world at this week’s HRI racecourse seminar. It was a strong line-up, all sharing best practice as we look ahead and prepare for the return of customers to our racetracks.”

HRI’s marketing manager, Aileen Goatley, added: “We didn’t want to let Covid-19 deter us from hosting our annual seminar, an event which racecourses find very beneficial to help with their marketing, sales and customer service initiatives. This year we cast the net wide to bring a stellar line-up to the event, and we’re delighted that Irish racecourses found it insightful and helpful.”