RACING OPENS ITS DOORS TO PUBLIC TO DRIVE TRUST

British racing is proud of its welfare standards.

That’s why each September the industry opens its doors to the public during National Racehorse Week, to showcase the levels of care that racehorses receive across their lives.

It’s all part of efforts to connect with the wider public and tackle head-on any negative perceptions around welfare in the sport. Curious about the lives that British racehorses really live? You’re not alone.

That's why National Racehorse Week has attracted over 50,000 people over the past four years.

What is National Racehorse Week?

Launched in 2021, and led by Great British Racing, National Racehorse Week brings together the entire British racing industry, from grassroots to elite level, to celebrate the racehorse.

From world-class training facilities and studs to retraining centres across Britain, National Racehorse Week makes racing accessible and inclusive to all.

Across nine days each year, National Racehorse Week offers members of the public, of any age, the chance to experience a day in the life of a racehorse entirely for free.

Showcasing everything in a racehorse’s life from birth to retirement, events include stud open days, retraining demonstrations, behind-the-scenes tours of a training yard, racecourse celebrations, community and charity group visits and more.

The week also partners with the Malton Open Day in Yorkshire, and the Henry Cecil Open Weekend in Newmarket, long-established and successful ticketed events, offering the very same experience while raising vital funds for the community.

Connecting with the community

In 2022 research commissioned by Great British Racing revealed a disconnect between those living in British cities and the countryside.

It found a startling 50% of 18-24 year olds living in urban areas have never seen a horse ‘in real life’. Yet nearly the same proportion (41%) would like the opportunity to engage with a horse for the first time.

And yet horseracing makes an enormously valuable contribution to the rural economy - £4.1 billion annually - and provides jobs for over 17,400 full-time employees.

National Racehorse Week is uniquely placed to bridge this divide. As part of the campaign’s community programme, running alongside the many public events taking place, it connects urban and disadvantaged communities with their local racing centres.

In four years, 146 separate community-focused and entirely free events have taken place during National Racehorse Week – connecting with young people and adults from across Britain who would otherwise not get the opportunity to meet a racehorse and see for themselves the lives they lead.

From schools to youth clubs, mental health charities such as Mind to autism support groups, every event is bespoke, created and hosted by the training yard, retraining centre or stud involved.

National Racehorse Week also takes racing to the heart of the community itself. In 2024, 11 current and former racehorses visited schools, hospitals, hospices and community groups across Britain to meet individuals first hand.

This echoes a growing role for racehorses in supporting those with special or enhanced needs, in addition to simply bringing a smile to someone’s day.

Case study

Jo Foster is a British racehorse trainer based in West Yorkshire. Alongside her usual training routine, Jo uses her racehorses to build links with the local community year round.

Jo is passionate about taking racehorses in training out to visit schools and care homes, believing the visits benefit both sides. During National Racehorse Week alone she has completed more than 40 visits, providing thousands of people with an opportunity to meet a Thoroughbred and interact with the sport.

‘The horses love it. It’s something a bit different for them. They are so sensitive they can read people around them. The more vulnerable the person, the gentler they tend to be.”

In December 2023, Jo was awarded the Animal Loneliness Award from Good Morning Britain’s 1 Million Minutes Award Initiative. These awards surprise deserving loneliness heroes up and down the country.

The impact

It’s all part of British racing’s efforts to make the sport as transparent as possible and accessible to all. And it works. In the past four years National Racehorse Week has grown from strength-to-strength, becoming the sport’s largest experiential event outside of a traditional race day.

99% of attendees would recommend National Racehorse Week to a friend, and 89% of those with little knowledge of racing said their opinions of racehorse care had improved following their visit. 9 out of 10 attendees even said that interacting with racehorses positively impacted their mood mental wellbeing on the day .

Between 2021-2024 National Racehorse Week has delivered:

- 393 free open days creating 51,587 free places 

- 146 community events for 8,790 people

- 64 school visits 

- 81 bespoke charity and community group events