Chester named a Quality Assured Racecourse—a First-Choice Day Out #Blog

Briony Wilson
21st January 2020

• Chester Racecourse named amongst the top 11 racecourses for raceday experience by LiveTourism
• All British racecourses accredited as ‘good’ or better
• A record 28 Excellence Accolades awarded, recognising outstanding aspects of the raceday experience

Chester Racecourse has been confirmed as one of the top 11 racecourses to visit in England and Wales by LiveTourism as part of the Racecourse Association’s (RCA) Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme (QARS).

In 2019, the RCA’s QARS was undertaken by LiveTourism for the first time since its inception in 2011. 2019 once again saw all British Racecourses rated as ‘good’ or better, excelling as destinations to enjoy a day of fantastic sporting action and a day out.

Each racecourse is visited by a trained assessor from LiveTourism whose job is to objectively assess the raceday experience. This rigorous assessment encompasses all aspects of the customer raceday journey and also comprises pre and post event information.

LiveTourism, responsible for all assessments in England and Wales, confirmed the top 11 racecourses for raceday experience in 2019 were (alphabetised): Aintree, Ascot, Beverley, Cheltenham, Chester, Newbury, Newmarket (July), Wetherby, Wincanton and York. The venues included in this prestigious list scored impressively throughout their assessments particularly in the core Racecourse section where the average score was 88.18%.

Paul Swain, the RCA’s Brand & Experience Manager, commented “The RCA’s Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme provides all racecourses with a recognised kitemark of quality from renowned experts LiveTourism and VisitScotland. The assessments are incredibly thorough and provide detailed feedback on every element of the customer experience. Combined with racegoer feedback, such evidence is invaluable as we strive to ensure racing remains a world class day out.

“I’m thrilled to see so many racecourses receive the recognition they deserve and the RCA looks forward to working alongside all racecourses to continue to enhance the raceday experience.”

Richard Thomas, Chief Executive at Racecourse commented “We’re thrilled to once again to be in great company, as one of the top 11 racecourses in the county to visit. We set ourselves high standards and the level of detail covered in this assessment really does ensure no aspect of the racegoer experience is left unturned.

Chester Race Course Boodles Festival 2017

“This award encourages us to regularly review and test every part of the Chester race day and is the litmus test in determining whether we’re getting it right. We look forward to the start of another season in May, when we will be able to put further improvements and updates from the close season into practice.”

Mandy Lane, LiveTourism Director, said “Our first year of assessments highlights the great work achieved in the customer experience at racecourses since the inception of the Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme. Striving for continual improvement is essential when consumers have many choices in how to spend their leisure time and money. The levels of commitment and innovative examples we have observed ranks racing competitively with many leading visitor attractions as a first-choice day out.”