Ascot racecourse flourishing despite harsh economic climate

Ascot yesterday lent credence to the maxim that life's finer things are most immune to recessionary times. In sanctioning a £450,000 prize-money increase at Royal Ascot this year, Charles Barnett, the track's chief executive, also hailed a successful jumps season and a rise in group bookings for the royal meeting in June.
The overall picture at the royal racecourse bucks the harsh economic climate in which it is operating. An ongoing review of budget forecasts for 2009, set before the advent of the credit crunch, is expected to be revised downwards only marginally.
Particular encouragement has been drawn from crowd figures at Ascot's recent jumps meetings. “Attendance for the meeting on December 20 was very much up,” Barnett said, “and pre-sales for the fixture on Saturday week [Victor Chandler day] are running well ahead of last year.”
Grandstand tickets for Royal Ascot opened with a flourish in October, and while group bookings run ahead of 12 months ago, individual ticket sales have slowed to the extent that overall ticket sales are slightly below last year's levels. Nevertheless, Barnett is confident that an imminent advertising campaign will restore the momentum.

“We are confident we will be able to match last year's crowd figures at Royal Ascot,” he said. “I am strongly of the view that individuals are leaving it later to book this time. You'd be gloomy if you watched the news every night, but we have plenty to be positive about.”
There has also been an above-average telephone response to letters sent out earlier this week inviting Royal Enclosure members to apply for their badges. “I don't know exactly why they were ringing,” Barnett said. “They could have been inquiring about all sorts of things, but I take it as a good sign.”
The prize-money hike at the royal meeting, a rise of more than 10 per cent on 2008 levels, takes the total fund to £4,450,000. All of it has been allocated to the meeting's seven group one races, with the Golden Jubilee and Prince Of Wales's Stakes each rising by £75,000 to £450,000.
“The majority of our group ones are international races,” Barnett said, “and it is important they retain their status. On ratings, the Prince Of Wales's has been just about the best race in the world for two or three years, while the Golden Jubilee attracts sprinters from all over the world.”
The racecourse's prioritising of the Golden Jubilee underlines its intention to pursue the international theme within Royal Ascot. Only promoted to group one status in 2002, the six-furlong sprint now shares top-billing as the most valuable race at the five-day festival.
Furthermore, Royal Ascot's lure to sprinters trained outside Britain is accentuated by a £50,000 increase to the five-furlong King's Stand Stakes. Most foreign-trained horses travel to Britain with the intention of running in both races. Australia's Takeover Target came close to completing the double in 2006.
source:the london times