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LATEST NEWS
12th April 2010
If 2009 was a year of research and development on the Racing for Change project, then 2010 is certainly a year for action.
The process of positive change has been gaining momentum on four fronts with the implementation of a number of important initiatives and the announcement of others.
At the beginning of January, Racing for Change announced its first steps to broaden the sport’s appeal, including the well-publicised trial of decimal odds. Further initiatives have followed, including the announcement of a first ever week in late-April when the public can try racing for free.
On the PR front, the RfC team is actively trying to create positive stories that take racing out of the sports pages and into more general news. The clash between Kauto Star and Denman was used in the run-up to the Gold Cup as a way of placing major features about racing in the national press and on TV.
Similar work is now being undertaken to promote the start of the Flat and the major meetings of the summer.
Racing for Change is also working proactively with bookmakers on ideas that will appeal to betting shop punters. Amongst the proposals under discussion is the possibility of a branded feature handicap in the same time slot every Saturday.
Discussions are also well advanced regarding a code of conduct for on-course bookmakers that will include standard each way terms.
A further work stream is focused on improving the raceday experience for customers. A number of consumer-friendly initiatives will be trialled during the week of free racing, whilst others are currently being researched and will be introduced later in the summer.
Finally, RfC has been looking closely at its ‘premier product’, the very best of British racing. Formal announcements on this are still weeks away, but media speculation has highlighted that the main focus is on the Flat and, in particular, how the racing calendar can be restructured to create a more meaningful finale to the season.
As part of this, there are on-going discussions regarding the movement of certain landmark races to a Saturday.
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