Racecourse Association Launches 2023 Showcase Seminar & Awards
The Racecourse Association (RCA) is delighted to launch the 2023 Showcase Seminar & Awards season to celebrate excellence and innovation across British racecourses during the past year.
The Showcase is the RCA’s marquee event and this year will conclude at the home of our reigning Champion Racecourse, Aintree, on Thursday 23rd November. The RCA is proud to be joined by Great British Racing (GBR), Racing Together, Racing Foundation and Racing Post as headline partners for the event.
Guests enjoying the 2022 RCA Showcase & Awards
The Showcase Awards recognise the best of British racecourses, with ten categories representing all elements of the raceday experience available for racecourses to enter. For 2023, we are delighted to partner with the ROA to present the RCA/ROA Racehorse Owners’ Racecourse of the Year award, the first time it has been presented at the Showcase event. A full list of awards can be found in our Companion Guide here.
The evening will culminate with the two ultimate awards offered by the RCA: Groundstaff Champion (the climax to the Racecourse Groundstaff Awards) and Showcase Champion Racecourse.
Aintree won Champion Racecourse at the 2022 RCA Showcase & Awards
As partners of the Awards, Racing Together, Racing Foundation and Racing Post will be offering a range of additional prizes to the winning racecourses in their respective categories. The winner of the Racing Together Community Award will have the opportunity to work with the charity to produce a case study and video PR of the successful initiative, whilst the Racing Foundation will once again open a fast-track funding application route to consider a grant of up to £20,000 for the winner of the Racing Foundation Green Award.
The Racing Post Readers’ Award, the only Showcase Award voted for exclusively by the public, will see the RCA and Racing Post provide a VIP racing experience for one lucky racegoer in addition to a Gold Racing Post online membership.
The Showcase will begin with a half-day conference and exhibition allowing some of the biggest brands in sport and leisure to share best practice alongside the leading organisations within British racing. Previous speakers have included globally-recognised brands such as Liverpool FC, Center Parcs, Wimbledon and Silverstone. A full programme and ticket details will be available in due course.
RCA Chairman Wilf Walsh welcomes delegates to the 2022 RCA Showcase Conference
Paul Swain, Raceday Experience & Communications Manager at the RCA, said: “The launch of the Showcase is always an eagerly-anticipated day in the calendar. Each year, it is fantastic to see racecourses engage with this event and continue to raise the bar across all elements of the raceday experience.
“The range of awards on offer provides racecourses of all sizes the opportunity to demonstrate their excellent work, and in turn allows the RCA to share the genuine best practice far and wide. My thanks to our partners for committing their time and expertise to the event, and we look forward to hosting alongside the Aintree Racecourse team in November.”
Rod Street, Chief Executive of GBR, said: “GBR is proud to be associated with the RCA Showcase Awards. We have seen, first-hand, how racecourses benefit from the share of best practice and innovation. Competition for consumer spend has never been fiercer, so providing the best and broadest customer experience possible is paramount.”
Lucy Gurney, Community Engagement Manager at Racing Together, said: “We are so proud to partner with the RCA to support the Racing Together Community Award again this year. It is a competitive category with wonderful examples of racecourses demonstrating their role at the heart of the communities they operate in, and we look forward to working with the winner this year.”
Rob Hezel, Chief Executive of the Racing Foundation, said: “The Racing Foundation is proud to be supporting the Showcase Green Award into its second year and will again welcome a grant bid of up to £20,000 from the winning racecourse to help secure the legacy of their initiative.
“The Racing Foundation Green Award will allow the industry to learn more about racecourse-led sustainable projects delivered throughout 2023 and highlight some of the brilliant work of racecourses to make British racing environmentally sustainable.”
