Fontwell Park’s Community-Inspired Christmas Cracker

Over 60,000 racegoers are expected to enjoy the festive feast of racing that is Boxing Day. With eight fixtures, the single busiest day in the British racing calendar, Boxing Day racing takes place across the length and breadth of Britain.

Packed grandstands are expected at Fontwell Park for the Boxing Day bonanza (image courtesy Fontwell Park)

For Fontwell Park Racecourse, the day represents the culmination of a long-term strategy and remains the cornerstone fixture for team and the local community. Speaking to the Racing Post’s Front Runner column, Executive Director Guy Pridie explained the importance of Boxing Day racing: “Racing on Boxing Day at Fontwell Park is our biggest day of the season and we could have our best crowd for ten years next week, probably in the area of 7,000.

“You know you’re really a community course because people want to come out with the family. These traditional days help us if the next generation are brought by their family.”

Attendance trends over the past decade highlight both the resilience and renewed momentum of Fontwell’s Boxing Day fixture. Following pre-pandemic crowds of around 5,500-6,000 and a peak of 7,400 in 2016, the fixture has shown steady recovery, rising from 5,205 in 2022 to 5,561 in 2024. The projected crowd of around 7,000 in 2025 would mark the strongest Boxing Day attendance in almost a decade.

The strategic push to integrate the racecourse into the local community was one fully embraced by Pridie and his team. Following the successful delivery of the Centenary celebrations in 2024, the racecourse team-maintained momentum through targeted local incentives, including on ticketing and hand-picking the beneficiaries of Fontwell Park’s community engagement efforts.

A local-first approach to partnerships and sponsorships has also seen the racecourse increase its local economic impact whilst enhancing the authenticity of the raceday experience. Longterm local partnerships with the likes of NJS Group, Covers Builders Merchants and V2 Radio has seen both parties benefit with Fontwell utilising their services and ensuring it’s a 2-way street, whilst they have also just signed a new partnership agreement with Mercedes-Benz of Chichester which will see activation throughout the year on racedays.

Aside from Boxing Day which is predicted to be a significant crowd for the racecourse, Fontwell Park has enjoyed other notable successes this year. November’s BetGoodwin Southern National Countryside Raceday saw a 22% attendance increase with a notable local audience. Local charity The Aldingbourne Trust was selected as the beneficiary of the day, and in turn provided a plethora of countryside fun and games. As a signpost to the festive fun of Boxing Day, racegoers were invited to guess how many balloons were inside the cab of a tractor provided by Chichester Young Farmers group, another local link, with the prize of a new Christmas Tree up for grabs.

Could you guess how many balloons were in the Chichester Young Farmers’ Cab? (image courtesy Fontwell Park Racecourse)

“The Southern National raceday was one of our standout fixtures of the year” explained Pridie. “The main race has seen an increase in runners’ year-on-year for the last 3 years which makes for great viewing for an ITV race, in addition to that we were delighted that the restaurant and all hospitality boxes both sold out and the crowd was in great form. Working with the local community and the likes of The Alidingborune Trust and Chichester Young Farmers has made a great difference in raising profile of the day and we’re incredibly grateful for all the support.”

Increasing the local audience and footfall has played a major role in Fontwell Park’s recent success and has been underpinned by ambitious commercial targets linked to raceday hospitality, a major revenue stream for racecourses. Fontwell Park traditionally sold out the restaurant and hospitality boxes on two to three fixtures per year, however a new target was set to sell out at least six fixtures. The target has not only been met but exceeded, with seven sellout hospitality fixtures and a record time for all seats on Boxing Day to be snapped up. The key to this has been prioritising customer feedback and using it to refine the raceday experience.

Guy Pridie added, “Our approach was twofold. Firstly, taking the time to really listen to, engage with and understand our customers – new and returning – and then turning that knowledge into practical and actionable changes, but also to ensure consistency, efficiency and a great experience throughout the site. Some changes have been more strategic whilst others have been smaller yet play a significant role in reshaping the raceday experience.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Fontwell Park aims to continue the growth of another of its major racedays, the Star Sports National Spirit Hurdle, which will be themed as “The Festival of the Horse,” alongside the Southern National Countryside Raceday. With the addition of two new Saturday fixtures, the venue has a significant opportunity to attract new customers while encouraging existing guests to return. In March, the track will host a St. Patrick’s Day Raceday, followed by an Oktoberfest Raceday in October.

Fontwell Park boasts the only complete figure of eight circuit for jumps racing in Britain (image courtesy Fontwell Park Racecourse)

In May 2026, Fontwell Park will celebrate its heritage as the oldest Figure-of-8 jumps track with a dedicated Figure-of-8 Raceday, promising a unique experience for guests. Following the successful conclusion of its first Chase Series in 2025, which featured £40,000 in prize money and ten qualifying races from September 2024, the venue plans to build on the noticeable interest generated by the series.

Looking ahead? Explore what’s coming up in 2026 and book your tickets for upcoming events here: What’s On | Fontwell Park.