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Just had some depressing news from Newbury Racecourse.
Had not recieved any information about renewing my Newbury Grandstand Membership for this year. So I phoned them to find out how much it is going to be. Last year it was £160, working out around £5 per meeting. Without any reciprocals.
But they are not doing it again. Not enough people interested apparently. Yet many racegoers I have spoken to never knew it existed, never got much publicity.
You would have thought they would have let me know.
It was particularly good value for me because I am only interested in the racing and prefer to stand some way from the winning post. Adjacent to where the race takes shape. Full membership would be a waste of money. They are going to send me information on other offers available, jumps, flat, weekender memberships etc. But at the moment I feel like telling them where to go.
Anyone know of other courses that have a Tattersalls Membership?
Mark
Value Is EverythingBluntly, they all should have.
Really silly of them. At only 5 GBP a day, do they not realize that gives people the power to spend more money when they are there?
Craig
alas Mark its bad news , you could try telling them to look at the Towcester experiment , and boy how is that working or what
Frankly it stinks , cmon Newbury , you are better than that
cheers
Ricky
guess this is the result of new managment there. cheltenham are now doing a season ticket for the best mate enclosure
Commenting without knowing if any alternative on offer, cancelling this offer wouldn’t be viewed as encouraging people to come racing in the present economic climate? I didn’t know this was on offer either and used to be a regular attendee, but the last few years their ‘day member’ prices have become just too expensive to go for a day’s racing without something particular being the attraction to go.
in the present economic climate
I think I said a while ago this would be a tough year for racing and race courses and still think it will be.
Commenting without knowing if any alternative on offer, cancelling this offer wouldn’t be viewed as encouraging people to come racing in the present economic climate?
I lived within 20 miles of Newbury up until April 2006, and attended meetings there on an occasional basis up until then. I never got the impression that the course were making serious efforts to encourage racegoers to the course apart, it would seem, from the coachloads who would turn up on summer Saturdays the worse for wear for drink before they reached the entrance. After one particular summer Saturday meeting, when a fight took place at the bottom of the terracing after the fifth race, I left before the last race, something I had never done at any race meeting before.
Newbury always lagged way behind Cheltenham, Sandown, Ascot and even Kempton in my list of meetings to attend. It’s a course where I get the impression the management feel we should ‘be privileged to attend’.
Rob
As a Newbury resident, I can only say that the management policy is poor. Their whole agenda seems to be geared towards selling their spare land for housing.
They’re very focussed on hiring out their rooms to corporate events on none racedays but their ability to market the racing is non-existent. Hennesey Day was deserted.
Look at the pricing policy – low grade meetings dearer than Ascot charge for marque racedays like the QE2. What sense does that make ?
The standard of racing on the flat and seems to decline every year and the prize money follows it.
There are no facilities other than a chip shop and load of bars under the main stand.
Half of the concession stands are unavailable to those in Tatts.
They have all but lost the support of Vodafone who are the town’s biggest name and used to sponsor a large number of races.
Needs a major shakeup in my view.
Just changing tack slightly, I am mystified that in a poll of the ROA membership Newbury has been voted "Racecourse of the Year" for the third year running. The same organisation has awarded Newbury a Gold Star, purportedly for the excellent treatment that owners receive on raceday. In my experience there is no justification whatsoever for either of these accolades and they only serve to increase the smug self-satisfaction which seems to characterise the Newbury management.
A couple of examples of this "gold star" treatment……on arrival on Hennessy day we were issued with a day-member’s badge since they had "run out" of owners’ badges. Utter shambles. We were therefore denied access to the two tiny, overcrowded bars which were the only facilities available to owners. The marquee which had been reserved for owners in previous years had been converted to a restaurant, packed full of people prepared to pay £45 a head for lunch.
So Newbury have succeeded in p***ing off two categories of customer. It would be interesting to hear whether Annual Members have also been on the receiving end of shabby treatment.
The Go Racing in Yorkshire membership i had was fantastic. It allowed you into all Yorskshire courses including York, Ripon, Doncaster, Wetherby, Redcar, Catterick, Beverley, Thirsk and Pontefract for £299 or 499 joint. Seems a lot but there’s hundreds of fixtures so well worth it. Bit far to travel from newbury mind so guess wouldn’t be for you
Link for it here…
As a Newbury resident, I can only say that the management policy is poor. Their whole agenda seems to be geared towards selling their spare land for housing.
quote]I would say they need to change their business model Sam, now that the property market is on its arse. Tralee race course was supposed to close this summer, as it was sold to developers, can’t see any development taking place there in the very near future.
JohnJ.
Newbury is a good enough course but probably feels that they should have had the Royal Meeting when Ascot was being tarted up.
It has the impression of wanting to be a course for the top occasion but apart from Hennessy and Aon Chase day they seem to be lacking something which gets people excited.
On the flat the Classic Trials are sometimes passed over and the Lockinge is the only serious race that they have.
newbury did of course stage diamond day for one year but half the usual diamond day crowd couldnt face going there.
I’m not sure that I’d have called Hennessy Day deserted – you want to be at the track for a midweek meeting!
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