The Jockey Club races to record revenues

THE Jockey Club,  which runs 15 racecourses including Aintree, Carlisle and Haydock Park has reported record revenues of £171.2m, boosted by higher ticket sales and commercial revenues.

After funding  further investments in course facilities, the group generated its second-largest operating profit ever of £21.7m in 2014, down £300,000 on the previous year.

Duriing the year,  the group also invested £36.1m on new and upgraded facilities and “maintaining standards and racing surfaces across its racecourses nationwide”.

Last year, those racecourses saw attendances of 1.8 million people at its 362 racing fixtures, up from 1.7 million at 361 fixtures in 2013.

The Jockey Club has also been continuing its “racing plus music” joint-venture events, featuring big-name acts such as Madness, Tom Jones, Boyzone, Kaiser Chiefs, Kylie Minogue and Spandau Ballet.

Chief executive Simon Bazalgette said: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to grow the business for a sixth successive year, because it allows us to increase our dividend for British racing.

“By maximising returns from our commercial operations, we’ve been able to invest more than £400m into the sport in the last 10 years. We’ve done that through prize money and facilities for customers and participants, and also supporting the sport’s promotion.”

He added: “Racing brings enjoyment to millions of people each year and is responsible for tens of thousands of jobs.

The organisation, whose patron in HM The Queen, reinvests all its earnings into the sport.

Mr Bazalgette said the club has had a “strong start to 2015”, particularly through an excellent Cheltenham Festival and Crabbie’s Grand National Festival, which both achieved significant attendance increases.

 He added: “In 2014 we saw hospitality rebound as the economy recovered and as we offered a greater mix of product and pricing. At the 2015 Cheltenham Festival hospitality sales grew a further 15 percent year-on-year and we saw 8 percent growth at the Crabbie’s Grand National Festival, meaning we’re not only returning to 2008 levels for hospitality sales, but now beating them at several of our events.”