The Jockey Club today launched a new initiative that enables 18-to 24-year-olds to enjoy world-class horseracing for half-price and in the enclosure of their choice at its 15 racecourses nationwide. RacePass 18to24 is designed to ensure cost is not a barrier for young people to attend the nation’s second-biggest spectator sport.

The Jockey Club’s racecourse arm stages well in excess of 300 racedays per year that are part of this half-price offer, including many of the sport’s crown jewel events at the likes of Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and Newmarket.

18-to 24-year-olds are encouraged to register immediately at RacePass18to24.co.uk to receive their free RacePass membership card, which is eligible for use at The Jockey Club’s racing fixtures from 1st December. This means young adults in the North of England will be able to visit Aintree from just £12.50 for racing over the Grand National fences at the Betfred Becher Chase on Saturday 3rd December or that same day in the South witness Grade 1 action at the Betfair Tingle Creek at Sandown Park from just £15.

The RacePass can be used in advance to order tickets online or upon entry at The Jockey Club’s racecourses to access the offer*. The dedicated website lists all participating fixtures. Getting a RacePass is free, unlike securing the likes of a Young Person’s Railcard for example, and Jockey Club Racecourses is guaranteeing a minimum of 250 tickets will be available for half-price at each of the fixtures involved.

Paul Fisher, Group Managing Director of Jockey Club Racecourses, said:

“The Jockey Club only exists to further British Racing and, while this move costs money in the short-term, it is a long-term investment in our sport’s future. We need to ensure that cost is not a barrier for young people wanting to go racing. It means that our relationship can be based on whether they have a fantastic experience at the races and we can focus on trying to ensure our incredible sporting heroes, stories and rivalries captivate that next generation.”

The RacePass gains half-price entry for 18-to 24-year-olds to a plethora of Group 1 and Grade 1 action, including:

Newmarket’s QIPCO Guineas Festival featuring the first two Classics races of the Flat season, the Moët & Chandon July Festival featuring the Darley July Cup and Dubai Future Champions Festival featuring the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes;
Sandown Park’s Coral-Eclipse, Betfair Tingle Creek and bet365 Jumps Finale;
Kempton Park’s 32Red Winter Festival featuring the 32Red King George VI Chase;
Haydock Park’s Betfair Chase, 32Red Sprint Cup and Betfred Temple Stakes
The Wednesday of The Festival at Cheltenham featuring the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase and all days of the course’s other fixtures including The Open;
The Thursday and Friday of the Randox Health Grand National Meeting at Aintree, as well as the 188BET Old Roan Chase and Betfred Becher Chase; and
The Duchess’s Stand at The Investec Derby Festival at Epsom Downs (The Queen’s Stand not available due to capacity)

In fact the only racedays not included from its portfolio are its Jockey Club Live music nights; the Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of The Festival at Cheltenham; and Randox Health Grand National Day.

The move is an expansion of The Jockey Club’s preferential pricing offer for young people. Under-18s already go racing for free at the vast majority of Jockey Club Racecourses fixtures, while students have been able to go racing for just £10 since last December, which this expanded offer now supersedes as it is available to all 18-to 24-year-olds.

The Jockey Club is the largest commercial group in British Racing, however it is governed by Royal Charter to act for the long-term good of the sport, which includes reinvesting all its profits. In the last decade alone it has put more than £400 million back into British Racing through prize money contributions and developing facilities for customers and the sport’s participants.

More than six million people enjoyed a day at the races in 2015, with Jockey Club Racecourses attracting record crowds in excess of 1.9 million people at its 15 racecourses, while more than 40 percent of TV viewers tuned in to watch the sport on free-to-air television during the year. The Jockey Club’s racecourses are: Aintree, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs, Exeter, Haydock Park, Huntingdon, Kempton Park, Market Rasen, Newmarket (July Course and Rowley Mile), Nottingham, Sandown Park, Warwick and Wincanton.