Perth Racecourse reports bumper 2017 season

Perth Racecourse is ending its 2017 on a high as it reports a hugely successful racing season.

The new state of the art irrigation system, which was unveiled at the start of the 2017 season, has improved consistency of the going contributing significantly to a staggering 53% decrease in non-runners and a 4% increase in field sizes which has in turn contributed to a growth in media rights income.

Ticket revenue was also up and a focussed marketing campaign helped the racecourse enjoy its first ever sell-out at the Saturday Summer Carnival in August.

The quality of runners has also been of a particularly high standard with highlights including Ballyandy winning on his Chase debut at the Glorious Finale in September, beating Fagan by a length in a memorable battle over the Chase fences down the entire home straight.

Other highlights included an early boost to the whole season with celebrity stylist, Gok Wan attending Ladies Day with his Fashion Brunch Club.

Perth Racecourse chief executive, Hazel Peplinski, said: “The irrigation project was a huge investment for us with a £250,000 capital expenditure. It was a challenging installation process with tricky winter ground conditions and was not only completed on time and within budget, but due to an unseasonal dry spring became essential for our season opener – The Perth Festival.

“We’ve had tremendous feedback from trainers who have expressed their delight at the improved consistency of the going and ultimately the investment has already returned a sustainable commercial benefit in the dramatic drop in the ratio of non-runners after declarations have been made.”

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The Lodge at Perth Racecourse continues to perform well as state-of-the-art stable staff accommodation and receives excellent feedback from horsemen utilising it for the two and three-day fixtures in particular. Sitting at number 1 for Perth on Booking.com and with strong Trip Advisor   ratings, the Lodge is also proving to be a welcome new revenue stream, achieving commendable average occupancy rates and offering excellent value guest accommodation which complements the on-going conference and banqueting business on site.

Advance interest in Raceday corporate packages for 2018 has also been extremely strong since the season ended and will launch for sale in early November. To reflect a growing trend for more flexible, informal dining, Perth Racecourse will also be adapting a number of its hospitality packages in the private boxes for the year ahead.

Looking forward to 2018, Peplinski is confident that an anticipated step change in prize money levels will only further enhance Perth’s status. She said: “We’re excited to be substantially increasing our investment in prize money which we are confident will help grow field sizes yet again in 2018 by encouraging more Owners and Trainers to sit up and notice what is happening here at Perth.  

“We’re also pleased to be able to add a second Saturday fixture on 23 June 2018, which, if the sell-out success of our existing August Saturday fixture is anything to go by, will be a huge opportunity for us to bring live horse-racing to a wider audience.”

Following the success of the EBF Gold Castle Listed Stakes race at the Perth Festival, a second Listed Stakes has been allocated to the annual opening meeting in April. The Fair Maid of Perth Steeplechase will target Class 1 Mares that are deemed to have the required stamina to see out the full three miles. This new feature race has already secured the commercial support of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association (TBA) who are naturally aligned to this type of contest which help the industry to identify the very best National Hunt broodmares of the future.

As well as servicing a strong Autumn conference season, planning and budgeting for Perth’s 2018 racing calendar is already well underway, and the racecourse is looking forward to building on the strong achievements of a fantastic 2017.

For more information on Perth Racecourse, visit www.perth-races.co.uk