Chelmsford City’s road to recognition

Having only opened its doors in 2015, Chelmsford City may be the UK’s newest racecourse but, over the last nine years, the team have set about building solid community relationships and have more than proven their commitment to charitable causes. Following their recent commendation at the RCA Showcase & Awards, we caught up with Jo Flaherty, Head of Customer Service, Community & Membership to hear more about their Remembrance Day initiative and what plans the future holds.

Reflecting on the RCA Showcase awards, it was a very exciting time and hugely important to the team at Chelmsford City. With our entries submitted and anticipation building, the exciting news reached us….we were finalists in three categories! This was a fantastic achievement for Chelmsford and we were all excited to attend the showcase with no expectations, just some hope in our hearts that maybe we could hold a trophy for at least one category. 

All of the finalists are worthy of recognition for their outstanding contributions, but simply being named as finalists and attending the awards was an incredible honour for us, and the team were absolutely thrilled to be part of it. 

We are thankful to the RCA and Musselburgh Racecourse for such a warm welcome at the stunning Signet Library in Edinburgh, where we enjoyed catching up with familiar faces and meeting new ones. The setting was perfect with everyone in high spirits, and the showcase was exceptional with hosts Rishi Persad and Taylor Winyard.

We submitted the Racing Together Community nomination for our Remembrance Raceday which was dedicated to the Armed Forces past and present, and finally the wait was over; we were recognised for this initiative and thrilled to receive a Highly Commended award.

Reaching the heart of Community

Racing Together and Community to us is about building relationships with the wider community and welcoming people to the racecourse who may never have experienced racing before, while uniting them with regular racegoers through a meaningful cause.

For us, offering complimentary tickets to all members of the Armed Forces served a dual purpose, by giving them an opportunity to enjoy a unique raceday experience alongside regular racegoers to honour ‘Remembrance,’ while also raising awareness and vital funds for the Royal British Legion. This initiative also highlighted the challenges faced by veterans dealing with injuries, mental health struggles and financial difficulties, and emphasising the crucial support that is needed during and after their service. By reaching out to over 250 military organisations this placed the racecourse in the heart of a national network of helping our Armed Forces.

Keeping up the momentum

As Remembrance Raceday evolves into a legacy event, the day of the awards was filled with thoughts of the to-do list for our 2024 event which this year coincided with Remembrance weekend two days after the awards! So after celebrating our achievements, including an additional win for Marketing and recognitions for ‘Warmest Welcome’ and ‘Sparkling Clean’ we partied into the early hours and were all back at our desks by midday on Friday!

However, our celebrations did not detract from our focus on Remembrance Raceday 2024 which we put all of our efforts into marking Remembrance and our Armed Forces once again. This year we welcomed more high ranking representatives from local barracks, a returning guest all the way from Ireland, the Mayor of Chelmsford, local MP, dignitaries from the RBL and our honorary guest His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Essex. 

A poignant wreath laying ceremony before racing was conducted by the dignitaries and American Lieutenant Colonel Ty Bowen from RAF Lakenheath, who read the famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ written by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae during the First World War.

Sponsors were secured once again providing additional military entertainment including performances from the Essex Yeomanry Brass Band, Majorette & Twirling union, Wimbish Military Wives Choir and singer Asha-Louise Laurence who entertained our military guests with renditions of the past.

New for this year, we introduced a competition for all local schools aimed at Key Stage 2 children. The project coinciding with half term invited them to write a poem about what Remembrance means to them, to encourage young people to understand the significance of this time of year and the Poppy Appeal. The winning poem featured in the race card, and was proudly recited by Alexandra the winner during the wreath laying ceremony. The day was made extra special with a photo shoot, interview with the raceday presenter, a goody bag, and a family ticket to our Good Friday Festival family raceday in 2025.

We are anticipating the final fundraising figure to match the success of last year and with lots of volunteers collecting during Remembrance at the racecourse this year, our donation will be gratefully received by the Royal British Legion. We are proud to have previously raised since August 2024 leading up this event over £12k, anticipated to rise to over £15k by the end of the year for the Armed Forces by also supporting local charity Blesma the limbless veterans charity.

Embracing the possibilities of 2025

This year has gone by so quickly but we are already racing ahead (excuse the pun) into the new year with some exciting plans as we prepare to celebrate our 10^th Anniversary of thrilling racing and world class events at Chelmsford City beginning in January 2025. A big part of the year’s campaign will be celebrating ‘10 Years of Community’ reflecting on past achievements, and creating new legacies.

Kicking off with two key events in January; a member’s exclusive preview Gala Dinner and Corporate Showcase we are eager to involve our regular racegoers, loyal audience, new visitors and the local community in what promises to be an exciting year ahead.

‘10 Years of Community’ will include supporting 10 charities, with a goal of raising £10K for each deserving cause, taking part in 10 off-site volunteering days, hosting 10 non-raceday community events and deliver on 10 sustainability initiatives. This may be a huge ask but I am passionate about all things community and charity and fortunate to have a fantastic team behind me along with the support of the racecourse, therefore we will be driven as a team to reach our target and make a real difference in the community. 

Thinking outside of the box and stretching our imagination to come up with new and unique ways to turn big ambitions into a reality is what we are currently doing, and will continue this approach throughout next year and beyond. And with any luck, this ambition will lead us back full circle to the RCA Showcase Awards again in 2025!

To hear more about the fantastic community engagement initiatives being supported by the racing industry, join us for Racing Together Industry Day on 6th February 2025. More information and Early-bird tickets available here.