RCA delves deeper into community engagement, equality, diversity & inclusion and research in annual report

The Racecourse Association (RCA) has today released its 2021 Annual Report which includes Maggie Carver’s final foreword as Chairman as she steps down later this year after six years in the role. The Annual Report and full financial statements can be downloaded here.

In her statement, Maggie discusses: leading the RCA through its most turbulent time as an organisation during the Covid-19 pandemic; her thoughts on the priorities for the horseracing industry and capitalising on some of the opportunities before us, and reflections on her tenure as RCA Chairman including key projects she has progressed such as the Betting Liaison Group, the Horse Welfare Board, Showcase & Awards and racegoer accessibility.

The Annual Report includes a summary of the RCA’s pivot and recovery work to support racecourses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each department head provides an update on their teams’ work over the past 12 months and highlights how the RCA’s 2021/2 Operating Plan is geared up to support the recovery of both British Racecourses and the sport of horseracing as a whole. For the first time, an aggregated report of the RCA Group’s financial statements has been included.

In Raceday Experience & Communications Manager Paul Swain’s update, he highlights some of the individual and collective community engagement activity across British racecourses, including Autism in Racing, a partnership with Blue Light Tickets and diversity and inclusion research.

Maggie Carver, Chairman of the RCA, said: “I would like to thank all racecourses, the RCA Board and the RCA executive team for their dedicated support of the work of the RCA. I would also like to thank our partners in the industry for their co-operation during what has been quite an eventful and challenging few years. I wish everyone the greatest success in the future and look forward to cheering on from the railings.”

David Armstrong, Chief Executive of the RCA, added: “We are pleased to publish our 2021 Annual Report and shed some light on what has been one of the most challenging periods of history for both the organisation and the industry as a whole. As you can see from the timeline we have included, the rapidly changing landscape made navigating the pandemic incredibly difficult.

“The financial statements included demonstrate the significant impact the past 12 months has had on our group. Counter to this, I believe the work of our team in the face of these circumstances has been extraordinary and we have been able to offer a valuable support service to our members whilst looking ahead to the rebuild in 2022.”