WILLIAM Derby has presided over a challenging eight years at York Racecourse, which have ultimately seen the racecourse raise its profile and become a huge success.

Having already delivered huge improvements in its infrastructure and facilities identified in a 20-year masterplan drawn up in 2007, the racecourse is on track to become a world leader, William said.

“We want to retain our pre-eminence as a top racecourse in Europe as we said at the outset, and indeed the world. We have gained more confidence in the last five years. It wasn’t appreciated that York was one of the top racecourses in the world, but now I think people do understand that,” he said.

The best racehorse in the world – Sea The Stars – won the Juddmonte International Stakes last year at York and William said the course impressed its owner with the team that cared for the horse and the reception it received when it won. He likened the event to having Usain Bolt run at Huddersfield Stadium.

“He was undisputedly the best horse in the world last year and his best racing experience outside Ireland was at York, despite also winning at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Epsom Derby and the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.”

These stars of the racing world are what will further increase the profile of the course and the city. And William said that as the racecourse is run by an independent non-profit making trust, it is able to channel its earnings back into the prize money to attract the best horses and improve its infrastructure and facilities.

Horseracing is also becoming a more global sport, which will reflect York on an international scale.

In 2005, Japanese racehorse Zenno Rob Roy came second at York, bringing with him 40 Japanese journalists to the city.

“Racing generally hasn’t flown horses around the world as much as it will in the future, which will put York more on the map. Hong Kong and Japanese horses compete internationally here, as well as horses from Europe,” he said.

Holding the prestigious Royal Ascot in 2005 left a legacy on the profile of York Racecourse.

Winning the bid caused a shift change in the perception of the racecourse within the city as well as the sport, said William.

It also pushed the racecourse to extend its track, which was a horseshoe shape, into a full circuit. This feature has now made York a favourite among owners because its long flat circuit provides a fair run and gets the best from horses. The highlight of the racecourse’s calendar, the John Smith’s Cup, is the highest attended flat racing event after the Derby Festival at Epsom and Royal Ascot and attracted 41,500 visitors, its second largest crowd ever, this year.

Its legacy also includes better traffic flows around the racecourse and lessons learnt from the event now shape the way racegoers are encouraged to interact with the city itself.

“One of the learnings that came out of Royal Ascot at York was that people didn’t spend a lot of time in the city centre.”

He said they had been so focused on facilitating an easy exit for visitors, they missed a trick.

“Now we’re encouraging people to discover the city rather than frog-marching them out by shuttle bus to the railway station.”

Although conscious of its vital relationship with the rest of the city, the extent of it was highlighted in 2009 when it commissioned the University of York to research its economic impact on York on the wider area.

The research, based on its impact in 2007, found the racecourse increased the city’s spend by £44 million per year and attracted 347,000 visitors from outside the city.

This was particularly noticeable in its absence in 2008 when it had to abandon the Ebor festival in August because of the wet weather.

“It was a hugely painful experience for us as a racecourse and as a city. It highlighted how important all those relationships between us and taxis and shops are.”

The painful experience also highlighted the importance of the racecourse’s next big project – to improve the drainage on the course to ensure this never happened again.

“Second was looking at the Melrose Stand and we’ve delivered on that now too,” said William. “There are other projects we’d like to develop and take forward in the future, but we were in a very different position when we drew up the masterplan in 2007 than we are today,” he said.

The 20-year-old Melrose Stand was refurbished to accommodate the changes in racehorse ownership from having an individual owner to a consortium of up to 40 people owning one horse.

It also offers a midway provision for visitors feeling the pinch of recession, who want to treat themselves for an affordable price.

“We are always trying to innovate, offer something different and respond to the market we operate in. Managers of other racecourses have been looking at what we’re up to, which is a sure sign there’s something in it,” he said. And this approach has helped them to attract a diverse audience of more than 50 per cent women and under 35 years old.

Different audiences are encouraged to attend racing by different styles of event, including the Music Showcase, which included Madness and popstars from the X-Factor this year, and its family days.

In a nutshell

William Derby studied at London University and trained as an accountant in Cambridge with PricewaterhouseCoopers before becoming commercial director at Ascot Racecourse. He studied at Harvard Business School in the United States before returning to the UK and joining York Racecourse in 2002.


Cleared hurdles

2002
William Derby joins during the building of its Ebor stand

2003
Ebor stand opens

2004
Is selected to host Royal Ascot in 2005 and starts track extension

2005
Hosts Royal Ascot

2006
Hosts St Leger meet while Doncaster Racecourse undergoes refurbishment

2007
Ebor stand is ravaged by fire

2008
Abandons the Ebor meet following heavy rain and commences drainage improvements

2009
Completes track project and wins Racecourse Of the Year, completes refurbishment of the Melrose Stand, and hosts the world’s best racehorse

Fat of the land

York Racecourse sources all its food locally through individual suppliers, from asparagus, to beef bought directly from the farmer and hanged in the racecourse’s own butchery.

York Racecourse Hospitality, a joint venture between the racecourse and CGC Events, has 130 permanent staff at York Racecourse and employs more than 1,000 more on busy racedays.

Managing director Keith Stewart said the company spends £5 million per year with local suppliers, which has an estimated impact of £15 million on the local economy. This is not restricted to racedays. The venue is also popular with annual conferences and banquets and holds large events including Venturefest and the University of York’s graduate ball for 3,000 undergraduates each year.

This is expected to be boosted by Grantside’s development of a hotel on the site of the former Terry’s Chocolate Factory, in which the racecourse has been closely involved.

The development will provide the added opportunity of being able to stay overnight on site.