From God’s Own County

Greater than the sum of the parts: the principle behind Go Racing In Yorkshire resonates just as strongly now as it did when luminaries including Norman Gundill MBE and John Sanderson OBE devised the pioneering group promotion for the county’s nine racecourses more than 40 years ago.

Responsibility for preserving the mantra has been taken up by Charlotte Russell, who moved into the role as GRIY general manager in April, when Emma White crossed the border for a similar job at Sedgefield.

“We’ve got everything in Yorkshire,” Russell says. “From smaller tracks to Group 1 courses; Doncaster in the Arena Racing Company group, who are very supportive of GRIY, and eight independents; Flat and jumps; by the sea and inland; rural and urban, but each racecourse is unique.

“That’s a challenge in itself, because when you’re trying to bring something together like the Summer Festival, you can’t have a one-size-fits-all solution to promotion.”

Yorkshire through and through, Russell was educated at Ripon Grammar School and the University of York. She arrived at GRIY after seven years as sales and marketing manager at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show, but she had already cut her teeth in racecourse management with two years as sponsorship executive at Ascot and four as business development and marketing executive at Beverley.

However, her first major assignment at GRIY gave her a fresh new perspective on a familiar topic.

“I started the role in February, so the Summer Festival in July was the first thing I got on with,” she explains. “I’d been involved with it before, when I worked at Beverley, but this was my first time organising it, so I had a completely different viewpoint, because I had to be across all the nine courses.

“To begin with, it felt as if I was paddling my own canoe, because all the racecourses had their own meetings to think about, but all of a sudden their next fixture was the Festival. Everyone was involved and the canoe went a lot faster. It was an absolutely fantastic week and really good fun.

“The courses looked great when they were branded, and in order to touch every sense point, we organised Yorkshire music to be played as people came in and worked with the caterers to do a Yorkshire pudding wrap, while we also had a Masons Yorkshire gin, tea edition cocktail, so that many aspects could be the same at all the meetings.

“The racing speaks for itself but running through it all is the sponsorship by Sky Bet. I haven’t worked with a sponsor for a long time who does so much to leverage their involvement, from Through the Stable Door to the jockeys’ football challenge Paddock and Chips.

“Unfortunately, we had two really poor days weather-wise towards the end of the week, so we didn’t break any attendance records, but that’s something we couldn’t plan for.”

Russell’s next project is to organise a jumps season launch, ahead of Wetherby’s first meeting on 16 October.

“The idea is to cover fashion and food as well as the racing,” she says, “so that we can promote jumping in Yorkshire, at Catterick, Doncaster and Wetherby, to every type of media.

“We want to start the season with a bang and keep the narrative going over the following months. We have some fantastic racing, from the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, through the Sky Bet and Grimthorpe Chases at Doncaster to the Yorkshire National at Catterick, so there’s plenty to talk about. And aside from that there are different types of fashion. I want to open a few people’s eyes to the fact that racing in Yorkshire isn’t just a summer activity.”

Russell will then move on to another annual GRIY highlight, organising the Doncaster finale for winners of the summer ladies’ day competitions.

“Every Yorkshire racecourse has one, from Wetherby in May to Doncaster at the St Leger meeting,” she says, “but what’s unique about ours is that we then have a final for the previous winners on 26 October to find the very best-dressed lady in Yorkshire.

“Racegoers definitely look forward to ladies’ days and so many people plan ahead. We do get serial contestants, but that’s fine because they put in the effort and know what’s expected, so they set a very good example to others. Entering the best-dressed competition is not the be-all and end-all but it’s an important part of their raceday.”

Doncaster stages another GRIY initiative on the last day of the turf Flat season, with the final of the Future Stars Apprentices Series, before which Russell will be occupied planning for the traditional awards lunch in December and opening applications for the annual badge scheme, which is 40 years old in 2019 and offers a saving over £1,000 through grandstand and paddock entrance at every Yorkshire race meeting except the Ebor and St Leger day, where members can upgrade at a discount.

“The Future Stars series has been going for several years,” she says, “and it looks as if we may have our first back-to-back winner in Kieren Schofield, who despite being out injured for a spell is having his best season from twice as many rides as he had last year.

“The series runs through the whole turf Flat season, with a race at every Yorkshire course, and the prize is sponsorship from GRIY, comprising £1,000 in cash, and a saddle from White Rose Saddlery.

“Kieren, who’s apprenticed to Brian Ellison, has been great to work with. He’s been very open to anything I’ve asked him to do, such as the blog I write with him every three or four weeks, and he got fully involved with the Racing Together community day.

“We want to support the winner as much as we can. It’s not just a case of saying, ‘Here’s the cash, off you go.’”

Heading into the final quarter of her first season with GRIY, Russell is already compiling a shopping list of enhancements for 2020.

“Most jobs I’ve done have been events based and quite cyclical, so you need to do a year to fully appreciate how everything works,” she explains. “But I’ve already got ideas for how to tweak things for next year’s Summer Festival, and I’m looking at improving the GRIY website, adding more information about the family aspects of racing, because I think we’re missing a trick by not promoting racing for business, highlighting sponsorship opportunities and the like.

“That’s something we as the group organisation can push. We’re not here to tread on anyone’s toes at the individual tracks. Instead, we’re a signposting organisation, pointing people in the right direction to encourage more footfall to Yorkshire racecourses, and then it’s up to them to pick up ideas with their nearest racecourse.”