Record crowds for Jockey Club courses during first half of 2015

Officials at the Jockey Club are celebrating record attendances during the first half of the year at the group's tracks.

Total attendances at Jockey Club Racecourses - that include major venues such as Newmarket, Aintree and Cheltenham - rose by 19 per cent, the first time that crowds at its racing events have surpassed the one million mark by the end of June.

The figures put the Jockey Club on course to beat its annual attendance record set in 2011 when crowds of 1.9 million were recorded. At the halfway point of that year, 991,564 people had attended - 87,437 fewer than the same stage in 2015.

Group managing director Paul Fisher said: "We're absolutely delighted and from asking our customers we know that our racing is increasingly being seen as a great thrill and a good value experience by people of all backgrounds and ages.

"As consumer confidence returns you might make the link to this performance, but actually our previous record year came during the downturn and general admissions held up really well through those tough times.

"However, the economy is a major factor in the record hospitality sales we're now achieving, which was a revenue stream that crashed and has now returned with interest with the economic recovery and as a result of us creating new hospitality choices with a greater range of price points to attract customers back.

"We are getting smarter at marketing our events and the sport as a whole, and we have some really effective sales teams who deserve a lot of the credit for this great start to the year.

"While we've invested more than #250 million in some great facilities at our venues over the last decade, racing is an outdoor pursuit so the weather in the second half of the year will be a big factor in whether we have a record year for attendance or not.

"In any case sales are up and we're tracking growth in interest levels about racing, which bodes well for the long-term."