Goodwood Racecourse Pilot Event- Saturday 1st August 2020

On Saturday 1st August, as part of the Qatar Goodwood Festival Goodwood Racecourse will host British Racing’s first pilot event to welcome back crowds to elite sporting venues.

The Goodwood Racecourse team and the Racecourse Association (RCA) have worked to clear operating procedures passed down from Government (DCMS) and the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA). Every effort to create a safe, secure environment to provide an enjoyable day’s racing has been taken and the protocols in place build upon those already in place which enabled racing to return behind closed doors on 1^st June 2020.

Detail is split between attendance, experience and post-event. A full Q&A can be found on the Goodwood website here.

Attendance

• Goodwood Members

Attendance at this event has been limited to 5,000, plus participants. Annual members of Goodwood Racecourse and their guests will make up this total.

This is to ensure a controlled environment with patrons familiar with the surroundings of Goodwood Racecourse and a gesture of goodwill to members who otherwise may not be able to visit the racecourse until 1^st October at the earliest.

After booking a space, individuals will be asked to complete an online form to support the NHS Test & Trace initiative. Access will be denied on the day if the form is not completed, for the safety of all concerned.

The Goodwood Racecourse team has made contact with the majority of attendees and can confirm a significant percentage will be using their own vehicles to travel to the pilot event. This is in line with previous calls from the racecourse to avoid public transport where possible. Unlike previous Qatar Goodwood Festivals, there will be no shuttle coach service from Chichester railway station to the racecourse.

• Owners

Owners will be welcomed to Qatar Goodwood Festival throughout the week, including the pilot event on Saturday 1^st August. Goodwood Racecourse is pleased to offer 3x badges per declared horse. Further details are contained within the experience section of this note.

• Participants & Racecourse Staff

Attendance for participants (jockeys, trainers and stable staff) will continue to be limited to those with an active role on the raceday.

Goodwood will communicate with its staff those who are required to work complete with a list of hygiene and safety measures in place. All staff were asked to opt in to work at the event to demonstrate they felt comfortable to do so.

•  Media

The existing media protocols for significant racedays will be in operation throughout the Qatar Goodwood Festival including the pilot event on Saturday 1^st August. A finite number of written media and photographers, in association with the Horserace Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) were invited to attend by Goodwood Racecourse whilst broadcasters were limited to rights holders and those invited by Goodwood Racecourse.

Experience

Understandably, the experience for all involved with the pilot event will not replicate previous visits to the Qatar Goodwood Festival. However, we are confident that the measures in place combined with the high spirits of our attendees will ensure a warm atmosphere throughout the racecourse and an enjoyable day out.

Stringent safety standards have been put in place which build on those already in place for racing behind closed doors. Those in attendance on the day, including participants, are asked to familiarise themselves with the event Code of Conduct.

• Goodwood Members

The usual enclosure structure (Richmond, Gordon and Lennox) will be replaced with nine carefully managed zones, including two picnic car parks. These are set at a capacity that allows all racegoers to be socially distanced, whilst being able to enjoy the action on either the course and/or big screen. Racegoers will not be able to move freely around the course, but will need to remain within their zone.

Members were invited to apply for a particular zone with those that were over-subscribed being decided via ballot. Zones that are more appropriate for patrons with accessibility requirements have been made clear on the Goodwood website.

All zones have hand sanitation stations available and include essential amenities to enjoy a day at the races: betting, access to food & beverage facilities and toilets. Full details of each zone can be found here.

Each zone will be monitored by members of the Goodwood raceday team and patrons are asked to take responsibility for themselves and maintain appropriate distancing.

On-course betting facilities will be provided by a small number of on-course bookmakers whilst BritBet will be offering Tote pools for all British Racing on Saturday 1^st August, including at this pilot event. On-course bookmakers have been selected from the bookmakers list and will play an important role in the pilot event by trialing social distancing initiatives and a cashless operation.

Throughout all zones, payments will be contactless at all amenities, including betting.

Timings for entry and exit will be staggered to allow for social distancing.

• Owners

Goodwood Racecourse will be allocating owners’ badges based on their capacity for the Owners Zone, which is 400 people per day. Three badges per declared horse may be booked via the Racecourse PASS system—should there be surplus of badges, an open ballot will be offered for an additional fourth badge.

The Owners Zone for the pilot event has been specifically chosen to allow further owners to attend and provide a memorable visit.

• Owners have access to the March Stand Steppings for race viewing, the Champagne Bar & Lawn, the Double Trigger Restaurant, and the west side of the Parade Ring Steppings.
• Lunch and Afternoon Tea will be served from the Double Trigger Restaurant and can be eaten within the Double Trigger or as the weather looks favourable, on the Champagne Bar and Lawn.
• Winning Connections will be served a glass of champagne on a reserved area on the lawn outside the Double Trigger and will have the opportunity to be photographed with your Trophy on the Parade Ring Steppings.
• The Owners area is designed so that connections and placed horses will also be able to talk across the Parade Ring Rail to their Trainers & Jockeys, from the Steppings.
• To help facilitate your day, a Winning Connections Manager is available throughout the day.

• Participants & Staff

All participants and staff will continue to operate in a secure Green Zone and will be required to complete the current pre-racing registration and health screening questionnaires. The Green Zone is segregated from the rest of the site and no crossover between zones is permitted.

Goodwood staff coming into contact with the public will have suitable PPE, including masks.

Following the pilot, a thorough debrief will take place between the horseracing industry and Government/SGSA.

• Media

Onsite media will be allocated a point of contact from Goodwood Racecourse. This chaperone should be contacted for all enquiries on the day.

An extended press room has been created to allow for the increase media to safely work.

Debriefs from pattern races will be conducted via virtual press conference with socially distanced seating available for onsite media to attend. Details of how to attend the virtual press conference were shared with the press pool on Monday 20^th July.

Post Event

A thorough debrief of the pilot event will take place with officials from DCMS, PHE, SGSA, Goodwood Racecourse the RCA, BHA. This debrief will assist in refining the racecourse operating protocols ahead of the Government’s 1^st October timeline for welcoming crowds to all elite sports. Further pilot events will be requested within British Racing ahead of this date.