‘Racing Revolution’ and ‘Civil War’ were some of the headlines earlier this week. If you held a poll as to the cause of the tanks being assembled on the lawn, a racecourse leaving a trade association would not have been amongst the favourites.
Ascot’s ‘explosive’ decision to give notice on its membership of the Racecourse Association (RCA) this week may in fact simply reflect not revolution but just the evolution that has gone on in racecourses' business models over recent decades.
Formed as a Trade Association in much simpler times, the RCA has provided racecourses with both a seat and a voice at racing's top table as well as serving as a valuable administrative tool in providing integrity services, insurance deals, ticket sales, best working practices and the general sharing of information and advice on how best to run a successful racecourse.
Times now, however, are very different.
Consider a comparison with the retail sector. Sixty years ago a Retail Trade Association would have been fighting for the rights of community corner shops present at virtually every turn. Now the landscape means no single body could possibly hope to adopt such an approach with Waitrose having very little in common with Arkwrights (apologies to Ronnie Barker!).
Likewise 60 years ago a racecourse model was relatively simple. Allocate prize money, frame appealing races and hope to attract a crowd. There were no pictures, bar a few terrestrial days, and certainly no Media Rights, Racing Channels, Streaming, World Pools and ‘Official Partners’.
The ownership models are now vastly different. ARC are heavily dependent on aggressively driving Media Rights revenue streams in order to generate a return comparable to the other business ventures of their owners the Reuben Brothers. Some independents like Newbury also have a shareholder requirement, whilst others such as Ascot and York have independent boards with the Jockey Club covering the complete range of large and small but with profits being reinvested rather than declaring a dividend.
