Ninety-nine Fixtures For 2008

There will be 99 fixtures in Scotland next year, one more than the number scheduled for 2007, following the conclusion of the fixture bidding process this week. The size of the Scottish fixture list equals Scotland's busiest year ever, when 99 fixtures were scheduled for 2006.

Ayr Racecourse will host the largest proportion of fixtures with 28 in all. Musselburgh Racecourse, the only other track in Scotland to stage both Flat and Jump racing, will hold 25 fixtures. Musselburgh's plans to buy additional fixtures for the proposed all-weather track were put on hold for one year, until the result of the Scottish Parliament's Planning Inquiry have been announced.

Hamilton Park have secured one additional fixture compared to 2007. They will now stage 19 racemeetings next summer. Kelso and Perth, the two dedicated Jumps tracks will retain the same number of fixtures - 14 and 13 respectively.

Record Crowds at Scottish Racemeetings

Scottish racecourses have welcomed some impressive crowds during the last week.

Tickets for Musselburgh's GNER Ladies Day were sold out before the gates even opened on Saturday 9th June. The following day Perth Racecourse welcomed a record crowd of nearly 12,000 to the Langvale Homes Perth Gold Cup Meeting.

Not to be outdone, Hamilton Park welcomed nearly 8,200 racegoers to Saints & Sinners Night on Wednesday evening, 100 more than last year.

The largest crowd witnessed in Scotland so far this year, was for Coral Scottish Grand National Day in April, when nearly 16,000 racegoers turned out at Ayr for a famous victory by Hot Weld.

Support for ROA Council Candidate, Alan Guthrie

Alan Guthrie, who has been co-opted to the council of the Racehorse Owners Association since 2003, is now standing for election as a full member of the council. He is supported by all five racecourses in Scotland, with whom he has worked seamlessly for the benefit of owners, racecourses and the sport in general.

Said Jonathan Garratt, Commercial Manager for Scottish Racing, "Alan has been integral to the running of the ROA's first regional group, ROA Scotland. It has been highly successful and Scottish owners can now enjoy several additional benefits to their ROA membership, including free racecourse admission on nearly all racedays - as long as they own 5% or more of a horse."

"Scottish candidates could face a disadvantage in the election, as there are many more ROA members with the right to vote in the south than there are in north. However, the partnership that Alan has helped to forge between the ROA and racecourses in Scotland is an example to the rest of the Britain - so his contribution would be invaluable."

VisitScotland Backs Another Winner!

Scottish Racing has become the first marketing group to apply successfully for grant funding from the VisitScotland Challenge Fund three years in succession. The VisitScotland Challenge Fund provides financial support for innovative marketing projects that are conducted by partnerships of three or more companies.

Last year, Scottish Racing received 40% funding towards a project to research, publish, promote and distribute the Tartan Turf Guide - a 64 page book containing all the information required by visitors to Scotland's five racecourses. The project became so successful that a decision has already been made to publish the guide on an annual basis. A free copy of the Tartan Turf Guide can be obtained by e-mailing your postal address to info@scottishracing.co.uk.

Now VisitScotland have awarded Scottish Racing a further grant to promote the concept of Tartan Turf Tours, a series of racing packages including racecourse admission to consecutive racedays at one or more of the Scottish racecourses. Some Tartan Turf Tour packages will also include travel to the racecourse by train or by ferry and overnight accommodation.

Research has demonstrated that approximately 20%, of all visitors to Scottish racemeetings, stay overnight in the area surrounding the racecourse and that racegoers generate in excess of £60 million per annum for the Scottish tourism industry.

Note to editors

• VisitScotland has £1 million worth of funding to assist with collaborative group marketing projects with a strong customer focus.
• VisitScotland’s challenge fund is a project part-financed by the European Union.
• VisitScotland has three key roles: to attract visitors to Scotland, to engage with partners in the industry and to add value to the visitor experience.
• VisitScotland is working with the tourism industry and other partners to achieve a 50 per cent growth in tourism revenues for Scotland by 2015.
• The organisation employs over 1,000 people and has 15 Network offices from London to Lerwick.
• For every £1 VisitScotland spends on promotion £14.50 is generated in return on behalf of Scotland’s tourism industry.
• Tourism employs 200,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The industry generates £4.3billion revenue (5 per cent of GDP).
• Tourism supports around 9 per cent of employment in Scotland (13 per cent in the Highlands).
• VisitScotland’s press releases can be found on www.visitscotland.org/media.asp         
•  For holiday information on Scotland go to  www.visitscotland.com