By Ed Culham
DEMAND for going racing remains high according to Racing Breaks Managing Director Aaron Taylor, and the challenge continues to be offering fans the “right product”.
Since setting up Racing Breaks in 2017, the company has successfully weathered the Covid pandemic and has emerged stronger, with an ever-increasing list of destinations for racing fans to travel the UK and the world.
“We set up Racing Breaks off the back of setting up a successful golf travel business called Your Golf Travel and another company called spabreaks.com,” Taylor said. “We decided there was a huge gap in the racing market, especially in the UK for providing customers with everything they need to go racing in one place, especially our transfers to and from the event so you can leave your car and enjoy your day.
“The idea was to try and get more people racing around the UK, but also overseas as well.
“We’ve got over 500 people going to the Dubai World Cup this week and we’ll have 1500 people going to the Arc later this year. There’s still demand for racing, it’s just ensuring that the right product is there for the right audience.
“At the Dubai World Cup, we are offering additional extras, such as stable tours, a yacht cruise on Thursday afternoon hosted by Ruby Walsh, as well as a big drinks evening on the Friday night hosted by Frankie Dettori, Jim Crowley, Ruby and a few others.”
Racing Breaks have a wealth of racing ambassadors from co-founder Dettori to former leading Jumps rider Walsh.
Ahead of the big weekend in Dubai, Walsh said: “I can’t wait to get out to the Dubai World Cup. I’m hosting Racing Breaks customers on our yacht cruise tomorrow evening and then joining up with Frankie and Jim for a drinks party on Friday. What a week it is, definitely one in my calendar every year.”
Dettori, who will be riding on Dubai World Cup night, is also looking forward to one of the biggest weekends in the racing calendar.
“Dubai is one of my absolute favourite places to ride. Sun, sea, beautiful hotels and amazing racing,” he said.
Closer to home, with the culmination of the Cheltenham Festival, much has been made in the media about the rising costs of going racing, but Racing Breaks are actively seeking to give customers the best possible value.
“We cater for the whole market. If someone wants to go racing, whatever their budget, we try to provide products that will work for them,” Taylor said. “One of the key messages that we’re trying to spread ahead of Cheltenham next year is actually to make sure our prices are lower than in 2024. We went out to all our suppliers – all our hotels, transfer companies – and demanded that prices be lower for next year or we wouldn’t launch with them.
“One of our key values is to actually start trying to bring prices down rather than just freezing them at prices that people weren’t happy with in the first place.”
In focusing on the whole market, Racing Breaks are bringing a new audience to racing, allowing people who wouldn’t necessarily know how to go about attending Cheltenham and other major festivals to do so.
“It’s a real mix [of people] and it’s largely people who are new or who haven’t been going to Cheltenham for the last 30 years. A lot of the time we’re bringing new people to racing.
“If you just go online and type in Cheltenham hotels, you get a bit of a shock. It’s about trying to open the Festival up to more experiential racegoers, bringing racing to a wider audience.”
Racing Breaks offer trips to major UK festivals, big international events such as the Breeders’ Cup as well as smaller trips to more niche spectacles such as the Palio Di Siena – the oldest horserace in the world.
With new Racing Breaks trips planned for next year to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Mauritius, it’s clear that demand for international and domestic racing remains as strong as ever.
“The punter needs to feel like they’re winning, and providing the right experience at the right price will ensure they’re keen to keep coming back,” Taylor said.
