Arena’s royal day proves a hit

The UK’s largest racecourse operator Arena Leisure said its free admission royal wedding raceday event at Doncaster Racecourse attracted 20,000 people, double the number who attended the equivalent meeting in 2010.

The group also reported strong forward bookings for the St Leger festival at Doncaster later this year.

Despite the prevailing economic conditions the group said it has seen an improving trend across both corporate custom and total attendance.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But the group said it is unlikely to see a material uplift in profits this year from last year as consumer confidence remains fragile amid uncertain economic conditions.

Consumer morale unexpectedly deteriorated in April to its gloomiest since the UK was in the depths of recession, as people braced to take a hit from public spending cuts.

However, Arena which owns and operates seven racecourses in the UK, including Doncaster, Royal Windsor, Lingfield Park and Wolverhampton, said trading in the first four months of 2011 was in line with its estimates.

The company, which also supplies catering services across each of its seven racecourse venues, said total attendance in the four-month period increased 25,000 to 159,000.

Arena’s seven racecourses staged 140 fixtures in the period, up from 138 last year.