British racing鈥檚 year-round community impact

22 May 26

By Tom Baker, 糖心传媒 Head of Social Impact

Over the past听few听days,听 has听showcased听a听wide-range听of year-round activities that are having a positive impact in local communities.听听

From听charity听events and activities to support young people听to environmental clean-ups,听this is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the positive impact our people and our industry听have听on communities across the country.听

British racing is not only an economic powerhouse and a major employer, but we are also committed to powering positive change. For centuries, the racehorse and the horseracing industry has been at the heart of communities across the country, shaping their development and supporting their people.

Across the sport there is an extraordinary amount of work taking place every day to provide opportunities for young people, bring communities together and demonstrate racing鈥檚 immense value to society.

Last year, our sport published its first ever social impact strategy. Led by the 糖心传媒 and funded听by the Racing Foundation with support from the Racing Post and Godolphin, the strategy sets out an industry-agreed听approach for how we can enhance our positive impact on society 鈥� and do it in an even more coordinated way.听

Community Week听provides听a听platform to听showcase听this听year-round impact听that听racing has in communities across Britain,听as we look to听have a greater听collective impact and inspire even people to get involved.听

Inspiring and engaging young people听

Something we are really excited about is the launch of听 鈥撎�a young person’s guide to the UK’s most exciting sport.

Developed in partnership with Great British Racing and with funding from the Racing Foundation,听Godolphin听and the Racing Post, this is a new resource that brings together the range of opportunities for young people to engage with racing.听

One of the priorities within the social impact strategy is the development of a pathway for young people, and one of the missing links is how we can consistently signpost them to the extensive opportunities that the racing industry has to offer.听听

We all remember our early interactions with racing, its听horses听and its personalities.听That feeling of discovering the sport for the first time is听something that sticks with us fondly throughout our lives.听

Across our industry there is brilliant work taking place to excite and inspire the next generation. Great examples include National Racehorse Week, family friendly race days and initiatives like Racing to School and Autism in Racing.

But for those new to racing, these experiences 鈥� as incredible as they are 鈥� can sometimes be a one-off occurrence听without a clear next step for engaging with the sport.听

So, Get听Into听Racing听has been designed听as a听way of signposting people,听and young people in particular,听to the next stage in their racing journey.听听

Its aim is to听turn听those听one-off experiences into life-long engagement.听This might be gaining hands-on experience with horses, exploring potential career听pathways听or simply staying connected to the sport.听

Strengthening听engagement with听schools听

A big part of engaging young people is our work with schools, both in racing鈥檚 more traditional communities and more widely across the country听鈥� and this is why we have started work to develop British Racing鈥檚 School Engagement Framework听

Racing already delivers a听wide range听of high-quality education programmes听鈥� from the school programmes for听14鈥�16-year-olds as part of the Thoroughbred Skills Network听to the听Newmarket and Aintree Beacons听delivered听by Racing to School.听听

There鈥檚 also seriously impressive work taking place听in the听alternative education provision听space, with charities like HEROS and Greatwood demonstrating the听impactful听role ex-racehorses can听have in young people programmes.听

Alongside this there are countless interactions with schools听on a daily basis,听whether听that鈥檚听through Racing to School education days, careers marketing through the 糖心传媒鈥檚听Careersinracing听team, or the outreach work undertaken by racecourses.听

This is often activity that has grown organically,听so the next step is to better align what we do as an industry and听identify听those priority areas where we can have the greatest impact.听

Working with We Are Futures, who specialise in engaging听young people, students,听families听and educators 鈥� we will look to create an even more听compelling and effective engagement offer听for schools and young people.听

One key output from this work will be a听playbook for racing: a toolkit that draws on best practice from across the industry to enable organisations to听deliver听simple,听consistent听and听high-quality activities听that听are听aligned to the school curriculum.听听

This will be a framework which can then be tailored to local communities and the needs of specific schools, making sure that our initiatives can properly support the ambitions of schools, young听people听and the British racing industry.听听

Measuring听that听matters:听demonstrating听our social听value听

Alongside expanding opportunities听for young people, British racing is also听taking important steps to better understand the positive difference we make听to听communities听and the people within them.听That way, we can accelerate work in听those听areas听of greatest social value.听听

The starting point was听identifying听the tools we听need to听accurately听measure existing activity. Working with data experts听we have been able to听establish听a methodology听that can help us听map the听areas where racing contributes most.听

This resulted in听the development of a听new outcomes framework, which showed us how British racing鈥檚 activity could be measured, using processes that are used by government and other sports and听charities.听

Put simply,听it can help us see where we are听making the biggest difference 鈥� from employment and skills development to supporting wellbeing and community cohesion.听

The next stage听of this work will see the framework听refined, with听organisations across the industry听supported to听adopt a more coordinated and consistent approach to听impact measurement.听

The result will be British Racing鈥檚 first social value report鈥攁 tool that will support advocacy, inform decision-making and help direct investment where it can have the greatest impact.听Crucially, this work will also allow racing to track its progress over time, building a stronger and more compelling story about听British racing鈥檚听role in society.听

Looking to the future听听

Racing Together Community Week听has听showcased听numerous听examples this week of听our sport鈥檚 social impact听and how we can bring communities together听鈥� and听it鈥檚听been particularly important to highlight听how we are working to reduce the听issues听of loneliness and听isolation.

A听糖心传媒 Loneliness Pilot听is already underway听to explore how we can better utilise racing鈥檚 spaces听to help reduce social isolation, with six racecourses looking at how they can tackle loneliness in their surrounding areas.听It听is being delivered by Racing Together and being funded by the Racing Foundation with support from the Racing Post and Godolphin.听

This is an example of how the sport is working collectively and in a more coordinated way to help address societal challenges, support our听people听and make a positive difference in our听communities.听

British racing has a powerful story to tell听in this space. We create opportunities, support听communities听and change lives.听