The Jockey Club
was £157,105, compared to a 2018 industry average of £99,680 excluding JCR. This also compares to the £116,000 average per fixture available at our 15 racecourses 10 years ago. Last year, participants raced for more at Jockey Club Racecourses than at any time in the history of our sport. By choosing to boost prize money in 2018 by a record £4.2 million – or 18.3% year- on-year – we reduced our Group operating profit by £0.9 million to £21 million [2017: £21.9 million]. Net profits after various deductions were £4.5 million. Again the comparison to 10 years ago is a healthy one, when we made a 2009 net loss of £2.1 million. A detailed review of our financial performance follows this section. A FORCE FOR GOOD IN BRITISH RACING Delivering commercial success has been our target and is the consequence of long- term investments and sound financial planning. It enables us to sustain employment within our sport, stage quality racing
at all levels supported by record contributions to prize money, enhance our facilities and the experiences we offer to customers, participants and partners, and invest in initiatives to help to support British Racing. However, financial performance is only one measure of whether we are living up to our mission. Also important is The Jockey Club’s impact on our society – within the racing industry, but also through the communities in which we operate, the causes we support and the environment we must protect to sustain our sport. We dedicate an important section of this Annual Review to these and I believe we must judge our performance on them. Equally vital to the future of our sport in my view is how we ensure our current and future relevance, and how we demonstrate to the public that we are a highly responsible industry. INSPIRING MORE RACING FANS We need to engage more people in racing as a sport and
not just a great day out. The more fans racing has the more people will attend, watch, bet and own a racehorse. This in turn supports the sustainability and health of our sport. Some people consider it a negative that today so many people enjoy a day at the races as a sporting and social occasion, rather than because they are passionate about the horses they will see perform. I look at this differently. Instead of being a niche sport where only the initiated attend and others are not welcome, we reach and transact with a vast swathe of the nation. With that mass base we have the opportunity to convert as many as possible into informed racing fans and advocates – but it must be on their terms. In an environment where we are capital-constrained and consumers have a huge amount of choice, this is a lot easier said than done, but we are ensuring it is a focus for the Group. For example, we are investing in the way we tell the stories of our horses and participants, particularly through digital content, which
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