Wetherby rated in top 11 racecourses

The rating was revealed by LiveTourism as part of the Racecourse Association’s (RCA) Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme (QARS).

Jonjo Sanderson from Wetherby Racecourse said: “We are delighted to have been recognised by LiveTourism as one of the top 11 Racecourses in the country, following their annual assessments in 2019.

“This really is testament to the level of care, attention and dedication that the staff we have at Wetherby put into their roles each race day to ensure that our end customers really do have the best.”

Last year once again saw all 60 British Racecourses rated as good or better, excelling as destinations to enjoy a day of fantastic sporting action and a day out.

Each racecourse is visited by a trained assessor from LiveTourism whose job is to objectively assess the raceday experience.

This assessment encompasses all aspects of the customer raceday journey and also comprises pre and post event information.

LiveTourism, responsible for all assessments in England and Wales, confirmed the top 11 racecourses for raceday experience in 2019 were - Aintree, Ascot, Beverley, Cheltenham, Chester, Newbury, Newmarket (July), Wetherby, Wincanton and York.

The venues included in this prestigious list scored impressively throughout their assessments particularly in the core Racecourse section where the average score was 88.18 per cent.

Paul Swain, the RCA’s Brand & Experience Manager, commented: “The RCA’s Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme provides all racecourses with a recognised kitemark of quality from renowned experts LiveTourism and VisitScotland.

“The assessments are incredibly thorough and provide detailed feedback on every element of the customer experience.

“Combined with racegoer feedback, such evidence is invaluable as we strive to ensure racing remains a world class day out.

“I’m thrilled to see so many racecourses receive the recognition they deserve and the RCA looks

forward to working alongside all racecourses to continue to enhance the raceday experience.”

“Moreover, it is great to see the work that Yorkshire racecourses generally are doing.”

Mandy Lane, LiveTourism Director, added: “Our first year of assessments highlights the great work achieved in the customer experience at racecourses since the inception of the Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme.

“Striving for continual improvement is essential when consumers have many choices in how to spend their leisure time and money. The levels of commitment and innovative examples we have observed ranks racing competitively with many leading visitor attractions as a firstchoice day out.”