Hereford wins Racing Together Community Award at Showcase
Hereford Racecourse won the Racing Together Community Award at the 14th annual RCA Showcase Awards, held in partnership with Great British Racing, Future Ticketing, Racing Foundation and Racing Together. The Richard Layton Charity Raceday’s aim was to make mental health the front runner in memory of local farmer Richard Layton, and the Hereford team created a safe space for those affected by Richard’s death, plus the wider farming and local community, to come together and learn about mental health. A strong legacy was left following the raceday, and thanks to award partners Racing Together, a video case study will be created and published in 2026.
Ascot Racecourse has been crowned the RCA Showcase Champion Racecourse and by doing so has become the first racecourse to be awarded this ultimate accolade on three separate occasions.
At a gala ceremony held at York Racecourse, Ascot won both the Racing Foundation Green Award and Exceptional Raceday Delivery (for events with over 8,000 spectators) as well as being named a Finalist in the Marketing Category en route to the overall Champion title.
In winning the Racing Foundation Green Award, Ascot’s commitment to sustainability wowed the independent judging panel with the hosting of the ‘Racing to Zero: Summer Mile Racing Weekend.’ Building on the previously launched Racing to Zero strategy, the Summer Mile Racing Weekend included a range of educational and engaging activations to not only inform the thousands in attendance of Ascot’s green credentials but to also provide them with the knowledge to make a difference away from the racecourse. With thanks to the Racing Foundation, Ascot will receive a video case study of this initiative which will be published in 2026.
Ascot’s excellence was also recognised in the Exceptional Raceday Delivery (for events with ≥8,000 racegoers) category, as the Howden Christmas Family Raceday proved one of the major racedays of the year. An increased crowd of 19,449 enjoyed Grade 1 action with an extra special visit from Mr and Mrs Claus who joined racegoers for carols, presents and even a demonstration on the equicisor.
Felicity Barnard, Chief Executive of Ascot Racecourse, said: “I am incredibly proud of the team at Ascot whose work has been celebrated with this award. It means a great deal to all of us here this evening, but also to our team looking on back in Berkshire. It has been a really good year for us across a range of events, and it’s important that events like this exist to allow us to share and learn best practice across the sport.”
“Our sincere thanks to the Showcase judges, the RCA for hosting this event and our hosts York Racecourse.”
Another Berkshire racecourse celebrating a year of success was Newbury, with the groundstaff team being named Champion Groundstaff of the Year in the Racecourse Groundstaff Awards (sponsored by Agrovista, Duralock and DLF Seeds & Science). Having already been named best dual-purpose racecourse in the Racecourse Groundstaff Awards, the independent agronomist confirmed Newbury as the overall Champion following a detailed visit to the racecourse which included a Performance Quality Standard (PQS) turf management assessment. Newbury also won the Racing Post Readers’ Award, the only Showcase Award open to 100% public vote, confirming their place as the racegoers’ choice for 2025.
A memorable night for Wincanton Racecourse started with the presentation of the 2025 Judges’ Choice Award for the Keagan Kirkby Memorial Raceday. The judges saw fit to commend this emotional tribute to local stable staff and amateur jockey Keagan Kirkby, who sadly lost his life in a point-to-point race in February 2024. Wincanton’s tribute in October of the same year saw £116,000 raised to support Racing Welfare and the Injured Jockeys Fund, as well as a moment to reflect on Keagan’s life in the presence of his family and friends. Wincanton went on to claim the Diversity & Inclusion Award for the Paddock Society initiative, which sees the racecourse act as a hub to combat loneliness within the local community.
Aintree Racecourse won the Marketing category for the ‘Fearless Style, Unforgettable Stories’ campaign to support Ladies Day at the Randox Health Grand National Festival. Aintree’s efforts to welcome new audiences, and break down identified barriers, paid dividends with thousands of new racegoers enjoying the unique Grand National Festival for the first time.
Hamilton Park Racecourse was once again amongst the winners by claiming the RCA/ROA Racehorse Owners’ Racecourse of the Year. In association with the ROA, racehorse owners were invited to vote for their favourite racecourse depending on experience with and without a runner plus racing factors including the racing surface, prize money and participant facilities. Hamilton Park polled the most votes and the highest average score, making them the clear choice of owners in 2025.
In a positive night for Scottish racecourses, Musselburgh Racecourse won the Exceptional Raceday Delivery (for events with ≤7,999 racegoers) Award for their 90s Friday Night at the Races. In an immersive throwback to the 1990s, the event was curated for fans of the party decade. A huge crowd enjoyed themed music, fancy dress and a great night’s racing, which sufficiently impressed the judges.
Beverley Racecourse won the highly coveted Food & Beverage Award for their ‘Booking to Pudding’ initiative. This excellent work was rewarded due to the incredibly successful combination of reimagined menus (focussed on local produce) and spaces plus a digital booking system which created a seamless experience for customers from before they had even arrived at the racecourse.
Arena Racing Company’s (ARC) central initiative to create a feedback mechanism for visiting stable staff was recognised with the Racing Connection Award. ARC’s digital infrastructure encourages stable staff to report any issues of concern, no matter how small, safe in the knowledge that a member of the ARC team will handle it quickly and without fuss. This initiative was considered excellent by the judges, with further racecourses encouraged to follow this blueprint.
Such was the quality of Finalists at the 2025 Showcase Awards, the judges also awarded three Highly Commended accolades. These were for Newbury’s Low & No Alcohol Bar (Food & Beverage), Jockey Club Racecourses’ group pledge to introduce 100,000 young people to horseracing (Racing Together Community) and Pontefract’s Chairman’s Challenge (Racing Connection).
The complete results from the 2025 Showcase Awards are as follows:
Showcase Champion Racecourse
WINNER: Ascot
Racecourse Groundstaff Awards—Overall Champion
WINNER: Newbury
Judges’ Choice Award
WINNER: Wincanton—Keagan Kirkby Memorial Raceday
Marketing
WINNER: Aintree – Fearless Style, Unforgettable Stories
Ascot – Free The Ascot You
Chester – For the Grace. And for the Glory
Newmarket – Summer Saturdays
Windsor – Berkshire Winter Million
Racing Foundation Green Award
WINNER: Ascot – Racing to Zero Summer Mile Racing Weekend
Haydock Park – Green Award
Huntingdon Racecourse – Creating Nature’s Corridor
Racing Connection
WINNER: Arena Racing Company – Hearing it From the Horse’s Mouth – Making the Voices of Stablestaff Heard
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Pontefract—Chairman’s Challenge
Ayr – Ayr Racing Club
Ludlow – Behind the Scenes Raceday
Southwell – Working With Coolmore
Racing Together Community Award
WINNER: Hereford – Richard Layton Charity Raceday: Making Mental Health the Front Runner
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Jockey Club Racecourses – 100,000 Opportunities for Young People to Experience Our Sport
Chelmsford City – 10 Years of CommunityCheltenham – A Partnership Through Time – Cotswold Riding for the DisabledSandown Park – Community Fund for Elmbridge
Exceptional Raceday Delivery (≤7,999 racegoers)
WINNER: Musselburgh – The 90s Friday Night at the Races
Bath – Easter Sunday Family Fun Day
Chelmsford City – End of Summer Sessions Party
Kempton Park – Community Raceday
Ripon – Teddy Bear’s Picnic in association with Harrogate Theatre
Exceptional Raceday Delivery (≥8,000)
WINNER: Ascot – Howden Christmas Family Raceday
Chester – Roman Day
Newbury – The Coral Gold Cup
Ripon – William Hill Great St Wilfrid – Charity Race Day
York – “No Trouble Makin’” Summer Music Saturday
RCA/ROA Owners’ Racecourse of the Year
WINNER: Hamilton Park
Ayr
Bangor-on-Dee
Newbury
York
Racing Post Readers’ Award
WINNER: Newbury
Ayr
Hexham
Musselburgh
Salisbury
About the Showcase & Awards
This is the fourteenth annual Showcase Seminar & Awards, the marquee event of the Racecourse Association (RCA) to celebrate excellence and innovation amongst British Racecourses in partnership with Great British Racing, Future Ticketing, the Racing Foundation and Racing Together.
It is renowned as the event to attend, learn from, engage with, support and celebrate racecourses. The daytime seminar and evening awards ceremony are both guided by the principle themes of excellence and innovation, which we encourage all racecourses to apply to every element of racecourse operation and raceday experience.
This year’s event was held on Thursday 13th November at York Racecourse.
The independent judging panel this year was comprised of: David Carr (Racing Reporter, Racing Post), Kate Freeman (Head of Ownership, Racehorse Owners Association), Aileen Goatley (Head of Marketing, Horse Racing Ireland) and Lena Hall (Facilities Planning Manager (Professional Game), ECB).
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