Like any sport, horse racing has its ups and downs. In the UK, for example, fan engagement has been a recurring challenge in recent years. However, it’s a challenge affecting many international horse racing jurisdictions, prompting a global search for new audiences.
As the Grand National approaches this weekend, SBC News asks the question – where can British racing head to in its global search for new audiences?
A key stakeholder to this search is Arena Racing Company (ARC), operator of 16 of the UK’s 59 licensed racecourses. Together with three other key stakeholders in the sport, the company launched Racing1 just over a year ago.
A joint initiative between ARC, Racecourse Media Group (RMG), 1/ST CONTENT, and Australian betting giant Tabcorp, Racing1 has set itself the target of dining new audiences for horse racing – but what have its key stakeholders learned about the worldwide scene from this globetrotting journey?
“It’s a global portfolio of rights with one single integration for vision and risk management,” explains Jack Whitaker, Head of Business Development at ARC and Racing1 spokesperson.
“Racing can be a tricky sell with its complexities, especially when you’re breaking into markets where it doesn’t enjoy such a strong heritage or awareness. The Racing1 alliance was created to cohere and crystallise strategies around the delivery of products to ensure simpler consumption for more potential racing clients across emerging and untapped markets.”
Back in Blighty
Meanwhile, British horse racing faces challenging conditions at home, ones that are all too familiar for those involved in the business of the sport – finding new audiences, particularly younger ones, is one of the big examples.
The British horse racing scene is one of the most revered within the sport, having amassed a global following over the years. But with the positives comes a mounting list of challenges that have continued to impact the sport’s development, including commercial opportunities, taxation and the overall governance model.
Fan engagement has been one of the biggest challenges in the sport; the UK racing sector has seen a number of efforts to remedy this challenge, such as hosting live-music events at racing meetings as well as attempts to bring football and rugby-style club formats to the sport with the Racing League.
Wearing his ARC hat, which runs 16 UK racetracks, equating to well over a third of the country’s racing activity, Whitaker recognises this challenge. However, finding the best way to respond brings challenges of its own.
“We are all trying to bring in the new generation, but there is an existing fan base that is very important to protect,” he said.
Racing is, of course, a sport that extends far beyond British shores. Last month’s Cheltenham Festival, and this weekend’s Grand National, two of the biggest if not the two biggest examples of premier UK racing fixtures, have huge international reach, with distribution handled by HBA Media and Racing1 partners RMG.
Other countries have their own big events too though, such as the Breeders’ Cup and the Pegasus World Cup in North America, or the Arc de Triomphe in France. The Melbourne Cup in Australia is so big it even has its own public holiday.
Whitaker noted that Australia and North America have “done well with big international events,” but whether or not there are any tricks of the trade UK racing can take on is another matter.
“The way the Melbourne Cup promotes its product is very engaging, I can see why someone who was not previously interested in racing would go to that,” he said.
“However, the big events can often sell themselves, what we need to do as racing organisations is try and convert those people into repeat customers. We must convert fans from once-a-year racegoers to Cheltenham or Royal Ascot, to more regular customers at Sandown and Lingfield.
“And rather than their rare wagering sprees at the big festival or two, encourage users to engage with racing more often. There have been a few initiatives in recent times such as simplified race cards, new engaging bet types, bet builders, but more can be done.”
For its part, ARC has tried its hand at experimentation. The company invested in Invades, a business specialising in creating tailored raceday experiences for university students, something Whittaker believes has encouraged ‘a new audience to racetracks.
Adding new experiences to the raceday agenda, like the aforementioned live music but also some quirky new ideas like speed dating, have added another layer of appeal to new audiences – but the work needs to continue.
“The challenge is converting that audience into true regular racing fans, whilst at the same time, protecting racing’s existing customer base who might want a completely different experience to the Invades crowd. We must ensure both can co-exist.”
Cracking The Americas
British racing’s audience is not just limited to the UK. The sport has a broad international following and potential, arguably one that is untapped. Perhaps the room for growth is not as huge as a global football giant like the Premier League, but the demand is there.
Harnessing this demand is a whole other kettle of fish. Which is why Racing1 was formed to try and tackle this problem. Surveying the racing landscape, two regions that have stood out as having strong potential are Latin America and the Middle East.
“We identified a lot of potential in Latin America,” Whitaker said. “Brazil was regulated not long ago, there are good prospects in markets like Peru and Dominican Republic too. Latam has a huge wagering market.”
Commenting further on the Latin American demand, 1/ST CONTENT’s Tomás Kavulakian, a Regional Account Manager for the company, reflected that local racing fans are, “very aware that UK and European content is out there.”
“Latin America is a region that we all know has so much potential, but it is a bit behind when it comes to legislation, which is often grey and cloudy,” he said. “We’re confident that that is going to be, in time, put in place, allowing for horse racing to really grow across the continent.
“Brazil is of course spearheading that, being the first in line and with such a big market. When it comes to sports betting in Brazil one wouldn’t automatically think of horse racing, but it has been quite big in Sao Paolo in the past, while Frankie Dettori just signed off his stellar career in style by winning the Brazilian 2,000 Guineas at stunning Gavea in Rio.”
Racing remains a promising product in other Latin American markets, with Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile also enjoying a strong heritage of historic racetracks with regular competitive racing. However, when it comes to marketing UK racing to the international audience, Latin America may not be the first destination that springs to mind.
The US racing scene may be niche, but its globally recognised events like the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup, coupled with geographic proximity and cultural connections, mean it may be in a better commercial position in Latin America than British racing.
“Latin America sees a lot of turnover made from local racetracks,” Kavulakian added. “That would be closely followed by 1/ST’s own US tracks at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park. Time zones are a big reason for that, and a lot of Latin American jockeys ride at those tracks. Gulfstream Park, in fact, is still the most bet-on North American track by UK and European punters, and again that’s because its East Coast time zone matches up so well, following on naturally from domestic racing programs.”
“So, for the Latin American audience, the US is the first market that springs into mind. As I say, many of the jockeys hail from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru, so fans can follow their careers at a convenient time difference. Plus, more generally, a lot of Latin American people have also moved to Florida, and the East and West Coasts, building an engaged Hispanic and Latino community.”
Asia – opportunities and lessons
For ARC and Racing1, the UAE is a key market, particularly with the development of the country’s gaming sector over the past two years.
“The UAE and Middle East region is a massive growth area globally for wagering,” Whitaker said. “There’s financial wealth with both locals and expats, and it’s a big racing jurisdiction with racing heritage. Meydan is traditionally the star of the show, notably hosting the Dubai World Cup, but Bahrain also has a great facility and hosts a huge Bahrain International Trophy every year, and other tracks like Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali are also taking huge strides.
“We have been working closely with Dubai Racing Club, Bahrain Turf Club, and the Abu Dhabi Turf Club to increase their global exposure. We hope that the landscape of the UAE, with locals who like racing, and expats, means that there is a pretty big market for racing there.”
The UAE has been positioning itself for quite some time as a new iGaming hub, potentially one for the wider Middle East region in the same way that Malta, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man are for Europe.
Various companies have been flocking to the UAE to acquire licences, and with ARC securing a vendor licence late last year, it’s another significant flag in the sand for ARC and its Racing1 partners.
For companies like ARC, demand for British racing has been particularly helped by the historically European expat community in the UAE. In 2025, it was estimated that well over 200,000 British expats lived in the country.
“All of our racing content is now live there – UK, North and South America, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand,” Whitaker explained on the demand for Racing1’s racing content in the UAE. “We’re also live with Abu Dhabi racing in the region, as well as Bahrain.
“We hope to go live with some other UAE content at some point. There are early signs that both are popular, the Racing1 content runs consistently day by day, and compliments the local content perfectly.”
The prospect of a UAE betting and gaming market, whether for foreigners only or not, has understandably been high on the agenda of many industry stakeholders over the past few years.
Recent events in the Middle East have cast some doubt on this. However, while it may seem trivial to focus on the experience of one sports industry against an intense and tragic geopolitical backdrop, the tourism sector in the UAE remains resilient and racing will remain an integral part of local culture in the country.
We can assume that key stakeholders will continue to monitor the situation closely, while preparing for how their racing rollouts can adjust. Aside from finding an audience for UK races among UAE residents, the country also hosts a number of big races in its own right.
For racing enthusiasts, the Dubai World Cup Carnival is just as big an event as the UK’s Grand National, Royal Ascot, Epsom Derby and Cheltenham Festival. Races in nearby Saudi Arabia also have built a broad international following.
“The demand for UAE racing in the UK has always been there,” said Whitaker. “That demand is strong, although it peaks and troughs a bit during the season depending on the quality of the racing. From a wagering perspective, it really helps when UK horses and jockeys go over.”
Looking beyond the UAE
A final region to consider after Latin America and the Middle East is East Asia. The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is a major racing stakeholder and organiser, and one of the key participants in the World Pool.
ARC’s Whitaker reflected that the Hong Kong racing scene has a few tricks up its sleeve that the UK scene could potentially learn from. Interactive terminals with 3D animations is one example, showcasing racecard information and betting opportunities in a sleek and engaging fashion, he said, while similar UK racecourse betting experiences can often be ‘quite outdated’ and importantly, ‘complicated for the non-traditional customer’.
“Initiatives like these are what is going to help make ‘Gen Z’ easier to connect with,” he added. “Racing is funded by wagering. We need these people to be wagering, not just attending a race day – because otherwise the racetrack doesn’t exist.
“We need to look at keeping people entertained, create a buzz, ensure it’s accessible and easy to navigate, while building up to the next event, the next race, and ultimately, the next wagering opportunity.”
1/ST CONTENT’s Kavulakian, meanwhile, believes that Japan and South Korea may have a few good ideas too, ranging from fan engagement to racetrack management, and from pricing to racehorse breeding and aftercare.
“The JRA (Japan Racing Association) and KRA (Korean Racing Authority) are working a lot on the racetrack experience, for big events and special events they have great facilities, special areas for families, younger people,” he said.
“You are not only creating engagement with the new generation but also maintaining the engagement with those who have been following horse racing for some time. Horse racing has evolved, and you need to engage everyone.”
UK racing doesn’t need to look far to find new audiences. Looking at home, Cheltenham’s attendances were solid this year, while the Aintree Festival this week, culminating in the Grand National on Saturday, is expected to draw in over 150,000 spectators in Merseyside.
And of course, there is the prospect of audiences abroad, whether in the US or Latin America, the UAE or East Asia.
Making sure the product and marketing hits the mark is the big task here – and it’s one that requires, above all else, stable governance and a grasp of how best to reach consumers – particularly younger Gen Z ones.
If racing can achieve this, it will secure another layer of future proofing. In an age of mounting financial pressure, however, hard work lies ahead, and the sport and its partners in betting need to secure more common ground before it’s too late.