Welcome to the 2018 Showcase & Awards
- Ninth annual Showcase to be held at reigning Champions Aintree Racecourse on Thursday 8th November
- Partnered by Moët Hennessy, Racing Post, Racing Breaks and Great British Racing (GBR)
- 11 Awards, plus two Champion Awards, celebrating excellence and innovation at British Racecourses
- Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme RCA Excellence Accolades to be unveiled
The Racecourse Association (RCA) is delighted to launch the ninth annual Showcase & Awards to celebrate and reward excellence and innovation at British Racecourses.
The marquee event of the RCA will be held at the home of the Randox Health Grand National and reigning Showcase Champions Aintree Racecourse on Thursday 8th November, where over 250 delegates from across the sport will gather to participate in both the seminar and awards event.
The Showcase seminar will enable delegates to hear from speakers operating at the cutting edge of customer experience, with previous keynote presentations including AELTC Wimbledon, Arsenal FC, BT Sports Industry Awards agency of the year Two Circles, Center Parcs and The Independent’s Simon Calder. The Showcase is also renowned for recognising the best from within the sport, with presentations from racecourses including Ascot, Musselburgh, Goodwood and York amongst others.
The evening Showcase awards celebrate and reward excellence and innovation on British racecourses in delivering the raceday experience. The 11 award categories encompass all aspects of the raceday with both group and individual awards. The independent judging panel is comprised of Tony Langham (Chairman, GBR), Gareth Balch (Two Circles), Alice Plunkett (ITV Racing), Ken McGarrity (ROA), Chris Cook (The Guardian) and Matt Lynch (Venue Inc.).
Paul Swain, Brand & Experience Manager at the RCA commented “It is always a highlight of the year when we launch the Showcase & Awards as it means we get to see the best of the racecourses from the past year. The standard of submissions has risen each year to date.
“As ever, we’ve used feedback from all racecourses to further improve the event and I’m confident our ninth renewal will be our best yet at Aintree Racecourse. We are grateful for the support from our partners Moët Hennessy, Racing Post, Racing Breaks and GBR and look forward to delivering the Showcase programme to all racecourses in the lead-up to Thursday 8th November.”
John Baker, Managing Director of Aintree Racecourse, commented “We’re thrilled to be hosting the RCA Showcase Awards at the home of the Randox Health Grand National. The Showcase & Awards has grown into a fantastic event which celebrates the excellence in our sport. We were delighted and honoured to win the Champion Racecourse last year and we look forward to welcoming people to Aintree and bringing the world’s most famous steeplechase to life.”
Simon Hibbitt, National On-Trade Sales Manager at Moët Hennessy commented “Moët Hennessy are proud to return as partners for the 2018 Showcase & Awards. We have enjoyed a long and enjoyable relationship with many of the racecourses and look forward to being surprised and delighted by the amazing initiatives and CSR programs implemented by entrants in the hotly contested awards.”
Rod Street, Chief Executive of GBR, commented “The RCA Showcase is a sport-leading initiative, which highlights customer innovation inside and outside racing and shares best practice. It’s an event with which Great British Racing is proud to be associated.”
Aaron Taylor, Head of Racing Breaks, commented “The RCA and the Showcase Awards are a superb platform for Racing Breaks to integrate and introduce ourselves to the racing community. Being a new start-up in an established industry the awards gives us a great chance to meet everyone over a drink rather than a board room. We’re delighted to be involved again and look forward to the big day at Aintree.”
Racing Post’s Chief Marketing Officer Louise Agran commented “We are proud to be supporting the Racing Post readers’ award at the RCA Showcase & Awards for the sixth consecutive year. The award enables our readers and social media followers to share their accounts of outstanding customer service at British racecourses and we look forward to recognising those held in particularly high regard.”
