On Track: Newbury ‘A record year of growth at Newbury Racecourse’
On Track is the new monthly column from the RCA sharing best practice from across its membership of British racecourses.
A number of racecourses reported strong attendance figures in 2024, including Newbury, who alongside a 5% general admission attendance increase, saw record growth in annual membership sales.
January’s On Track shares the bold new strategy and proposition change by Newbury which resulted in this fantastic result.
With membership sales declining year-on-year since 2016, Newbury took the decision to undertake a comprehensive review of their membership proposition in 2023. Keen to ensure the review was informed by members themselves, the Racecourse ran their first ever members’ survey to understand how they’d be best placed to improve the product and experience on offer to members.
The survey provided clear feedback and helped shaped a number of changes to the membership proposition in 2024, including:
- Introduction of free-to-attend, member-only events
- A 15% discount on food and drink for members on racedays
- Increased allocation of member-only parking and better protection and stewarding of the Racecourse’s members’ areas
- Access to up to six discounted tickets for friends and family for every raceday
- Introduction of priority booking windows for members
- Deeper and more frequent members’ communications
- Increased number and range of reciprocal racedays and events for members
- More flexible usage of members’ guest vouchers to allow members to bring friends and family for free on more Premier Racedays
- Creation of a new standalone membership identity
Alongside improving the raceday experience, the team introduced a new membership product for younger racegoers aged 25-29, ensuring the provision of a better ladder to the Racecourse’s adult memberships, while reducing the cost of membership for those aged 18-24 to a marketable and affordable £99.
A new on-sale process and early booking discounts were introduced for membership which encouraged earlier renewal & joining and created a more meaningful moment around which the Racecourse could generate traction for its membership product.
With these changes in place the Newbury team felt the membership experience and associated cost was aligned and the results suggest that members agreed.
Compared to 2023, the 2024 membership sales curve shifted earlier, there was a 17% increase in paying members and a record number of young person memberships sold.
Existing members embraced the changes too with a 7% increase in year-on-year retention.
The experiential changes also proved popular with a 34% increase in member attendance in 2024, a 62% increase in the number of guests members introduced to the Racecourse, a +10 increase in Members’ NPS, a 34% increase in Members’ food and beverage spend and an overall increase in annual net revenue contribution from members of 23%.
The success of Newbury’s new approach to membership shows that proactive change can work for both the racecourse and its racegoers.
Harry Walklin, Marketing Director at Newbury Racecourse said: ‘’So many successful sports ticketing businesses are underpinned by strong membership products and it was our ambition to reframe our membership proposition in 2024 so as to better support the wider Racecourse business.
Gathering insight from our members and putting them at the heart of the racing experience at Newbury enabled us to make meaningful change and enhance our membership portfolio while driving improved outcomes, both commercially and for our members.’’
Find out more about membership at Newbury Racecourse on the racecourse website here.
