Perth Racecourse is celebrating “one of its best seasons to date”.
The sporting venue saw an 11% rise in revenue at the turnstiles, as well as a 19% increase in the number of runners for the 2016 season.
In her end of season review, chief executive Hazel Peplinski pointed to the commercial benefits of investing in the facilities which increase the appeal of Perth to owners and trainers, in a year that saw 857 runners saddle up in Scone.
She said: “It’s been an epic season at Perth Racecourse, on and off the track and our successes have provided the team with great impetus for 2017 for which we are already madly preparing budgets and making exciting plans.
“My first year has personally been a steep learning curve but there is a real sense of satisfaction of a job well done by the whole team who have been amazing.
“Horse-racing has become a fairly commercial industry but I’m a firm believer in ‘no horses, no racing’ so we’ve done a lot of work behind the scenes to encourage more trainers to send their horses to Perth, and as a result the racing fans’ experience has undoubtedly been elevated.
“We see the racecourse as a real jewel in the tourism crown — one we shall continue to shine to realise our ambition to become one of the top racing venues in the UK.”
Innovations at Perth Racecourse in the past year include the introduction of a fourth onsite vet to monitor horses post-race, with dedicated vet treatment boxes built in the new yard, big screens in the winners’ enclosure and a new jockey accommodation and stable facility.
The £2.1m facility is open to the public on non-race days as a hotel and leisure outlet and has provided a further boost to tourism in the area.
Other changes which contributed to the record-breaking season included complimentary hospitality being introduced for all owners sending runners to Perth and new high profile onsite presenters in Gordon Brown and Alex Steedman from Racing UK. New big screens were also introduced in the winning enclosure to further enhance the guest experience.
