Jockey Club Live plays to nearly 300,000 people in first year

11 September 2014 - Press release

Jockey Club Live Confirmed as UK’s 6^th Largest Live Music Promoter 

Tuesday 9th September 2014 – Jockey Club Live, the new music and entertainment venture, has staged live music after racing for nearly 300,000 people in its first year of operation; including just over 10,000 more general admissions sales than in 2013 at Jockey Club Racecourses, where previously artists and production were booked through a third party supplier arrangement.

Booking acts directly has helped to secure talent more cost-effectively and Jockey Club Live used these savings to invest in far better sound, staging and production at the events, resulting in very positive feedback from racegoers and artists alike.

The success of the venture is important to British racing more generally as The Jockey Club reinvests all profits it makes back into the sport through prize money contributions, enhancing facilities and supporting initiatives to promote British racing.

Jockey Club Live events were staged at Jockey Club Racecourses and through contracts with Newbury and York racecourses from Saturday 31st May to this weekend just gone, Saturday 6th September. Artists included Sir Tom Jones, Jessie J, Kaiser Chiefs, Beach Boys, Dizzee Rascal, James Blunt, Boyzone and Wet Wet Wet. Based on attendances, Jockey Club Live is already the sixth largest music promoter in Britain.

Andrew Wilkinson, Chief Executive of Jockey Club Live, said:

“Our first season of racing & music has gone really well. We only formed the venture at the turn of the year after a lengthy tender process, whereas normally we would have a number of artists secured and on sale by then.

“As an ardent racing fan myself, it's great to have a partner in Jockey Club Racecourses who puts everything it makes from our success back into the sport.

“We’ve received a huge amount of positive feedback from racegoers and artists about the quality of the sound and production, which we step-changed through the new venture.

“We’ve also learned plenty in year one to inform our approach and are already in discussions to attract high calibre artists for our 2015 roster, which we’ll be able to announce in due course.”