2015 was a good year for attendance at British race meetings as the number of race goers topped six million for the first time in four years. A total of 6,129,433 people went through the turnstiles at Britain's 59 racecourses in 2015, a figure that surpassed the previous year's total by 5.3%. The average attendance per meeting also increased to 4,256, a 4.4% rise on the corresponding 2014 figure. Stephen Atkin, chief executive of the Racecourse Association is very satisfied with the progress and commented, “It is once again very pleasing to see a significant rise in the total and average attendance at racecourses in 2015. It is reward for the hard work put in by racecourse teams across the country and it also reflects the very substantial investment by racecourses in customer facilities and other infrastructure. This growth is vital in creating an environment to justify further investment, planned and prospective.” Atkin feels this year will bring a new set of opportunities and obstacles as racing vies for the attention of an audience that has an abundant array of options for its leisure time. “Looking forward, 2016 will bring with it a unique set of opportunities and challenges for racecourses with the Queen's 90th birthday and the crowning of a new champion jump jockey for the first time in 20 years. There is also significant Home Nation involvement in Euro 2016 and the Rio Olympics. There is a huge amount to build on and we will hopefully see further growth this year,” added Atkin.
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