More than 33,000 attend Guineas at Newmarket

More than 33,000 racegoers attended the Betfred Guineas Festival at Newmarket over the weekend.

On Saturday more than 18,000 racegoers watched Bow Echo win the Betfred 2,000 Guineas for Newmarket trainer George Boughey and jockey Billy Loughnane who, at 34 and 20 years old respectively, became the youngest combination to land the race in the post-war era.

On Sunday, trainer Aidan O'Brien landed the eighth 1,000 Guineas of his career.

Sophie Able, Newmarket racecourses and international director, said the numbers of young racegoers and those living locally to the course had increased.

A total of 33,385 racegoers headed to the Suffolk course to enjoy the event between Friday and Sunday.

It comes after a new report was released by a racing forum to help secure the sport at a time of decreased visitor numbers and a reduction of thoroughbred foals being born.

Able said it had been a weekend of "competitive racing".

"We are also delighted that so many young people have joined us over the three days, with figures showing that our 18-24 customer base increased year-on-year by 28%, demonstrating that racing at Newmarket continues to thrive and attract the next generation of racegoers," she said.

"Our community offer on Friday was also really successful, with 18% more customers coming from within a 25-mile radius of the racecourse, and we were delighted to sell out our Premier Enclosure, Hospitality areas and Century Stand on Saturday, showing how popular these spaces continue to be."

She added that the course staff had a difficult job in the run-up to the event with just 1mm of rain falling between 16 March and the event, leading to a dry course.

Nationally, horse racing is the UK's second most economically significant sport, next to football, and generates £4bn for the national economy.

The Newmarket Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding Industry Forum (NTRBIF) produced an 80-page blueprint for a "new era" of the sport and Newmarket.

It includes ways in which it hopes to secure the sector's future and improve it over the next 10 to 15 years.

Amy Starkey, project director at The Jockey Club, which runs Newmarket Racecourse, and lead of the NTRBIF, previously said the development of Newmarket and the history of horse racing had reached a "crucial point" and she hoped to see the industry "flourish and thrive".

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