By Richard Wayman, director of racing
During 2025 we publish quarterly blogs that aim to summarize the general implementation of actions on the racetrack. The blogs will cover the two -year initiatives for the list list for two years until the end of this year and have the general goal of making our races as attractive as possible for the existing and novel sports fans.
In addition to the blog, we also publish the latest Racing data report This includes many of the measures you would expect to cover essential areas such as the competitiveness of races, prize money and horse stands. When the blog is published, there will always be a little delay, since it also refers to some customer data such as betting information and racing sticks, the compilation of which takes a little longer.
If you look back on the results of the Q1 from 2025, as is often the case, they are a bit mixed with some reasons for optimism, but also concern.
With regard to the results of the field, it was good to see a more competitive time of the Jump race than 12 months ago. The average field sizes in jumping core grew from 7.85 to 7.93, while with jumping premier devices from 9.29 to 9.63 significant boost were increased. This overall improvement was against the background that 42 further jumping races were carried out in the first quarter this year, although it should also be recognized that the very pliable ground undoubtedly included the field sizes in the first few months of last year.
Conversely, the field sizes on the apartment in the first quarter this year were lower, with the average of Kern flat lights fell from 8.82 to 8.62. However, it is worth remembering that the numbers of last year would have increased by the attempt of six Sunday evening lights, in which the relatively high prize money offered normally led to something near full fields.
With regard to the customer data, total sales of 9% have fallen by 9% compared to the same period of 2024. While the racing product is a much larger selection of factors for this decline in racing products to exercise its attractiveness as a betting medium. This includes, for example, that improvements in gross victory indicate through the first quarter that the results on the racetrack do not contribute to this during this period.
If you take a closer look at the decline, it is intriguing to determine that the average sales per breed in a core button fell by 14.4%, while it has remained unchanged in a Premier game. This indicates that changes in the profile of customers who bet on racing with some of the larger customers change either less bet or to non -licensed operators, where they can avoid the controls that are routinely necessary in the regulated markets. It is more encouraging that the number of racing jumps bets growth in the number of leisure time. Such customers concentrate more often on our higher devices and breeds, although their activities do not compensate for the loss of the larger bettors.
As for racing visitors, the total occupations from 682,385 to 666,069 have dropped by a little more than 16,000. However, it is worth noting that the majority of the busy Easter period decreased in 2024 in the first quarter, but not this year, and also that a little less glow runs during the quarter. A similar comparison with 2023, another year in which Easter fell in the second quarter, a marginal boost in the total occupations of just more than 1,000 racing visitors.
Since the Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of the first quarter, the reduction of the crowds of just over 11,000 is also significant this year.
Apart from the route, the total prize money from 33.9 million GBP had decreased to 32.4 million GBP. The total of GBP has actually risen over jumps from GBP of GBP, GBP of 20.9 million, to 22.4 million GBP, even though 42 further jumping races had been driven this year. The decline of 3 million GBP in the apartment from 13 million GBP to 10 million GBP can largely be explained by the above test against Sunday evening devices (total prices of 945,000 GBP) and also the time of the Good Friday feet (the three share of this day offers a total of 1.7 million GBP).
The horse population at 31 March decreased by 1.9% compared to the same date in 2024 and is between 15,359 to 15,070. After a continuous decline in recent years in the number of Jump horses running in Great Britain with a higher rating, the number of over 135 rated horses that occurred on the racetrack welcomed in the first quarter to 307.
Finally, the efforts of everyone involved are to ensure that the breeds begin on time, over time in the first quarter, 87.6% of the breeds that begin within 2 minutes after the planned off-time, which is compared in 2024 and 72.7% in 2023 with 79.2%. These improvement channels that racing streaming, racing channels, racing channels, racing channels, racing channels, racing channels, the racing channels or the surface channels, in shops that are on the racing pieces for a long time.
At the time of my next blog at the end of the second quarter, we will be a long way to create the 2026 game list. The current study of changes enables us to test different things, and it is obviously essential that the list of 2026 games builds up in the areas where we have seen improvements and have seen the lessons from these initiatives that have not achieved their goals.
