York Racecourse is delighted that it has received a national RCA Excellence Accolade for its Food Court.

Moreover, it is pleased that it remains amongst the top dozen racecourses in the country, according to the VisitEngland assessment scheme.

The Racecourse Association (RCA), in partnership with VisitEngland has announced the top racecourses in England, Wales and Scotland for 2015 through the Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme.

Now in its seventh year, the scheme allows every racecourse to be assessed and rated by VisitEngland against other attractions in Britain.York is proud to feature in that top twelve, with the others (listed alphabetically) being:
Ascot, Bangor-on-Dee, Beverley, Carlisle, Chester, Doncaster, Goodwood, Haydock Park, Newbury, Redcar, Ripon, York

The national tourism boards provide a rating that takes into account efficiency and friendliness of customer service as well as cleanliness of facilities. Once again all racecourses scored the minimum rating required to be classed as ‘good’. Collaborating with VisitEngland allows racecourses to benchmark against other attractions, ensuring that standards of customer experience remain high in the face of such competition.

For the RCA Excellence Accolades, there are six categories covering all aspects of the racecourse experience, with York securing an Accolade for its Food Court near the Knavesmire Stand.

RCA Chief Executive, Stephen Atkin, said: “Once again our racecourses have demonstrated that they stand up well when compared to other attractions across Britain. We are very proud of the service and value for money that all of our racecourses offer and this is backed up by the results from VisitEngland and VisitScotland.

“Our partnership with the tourism board, it allows us to offer customers a guarantee of quality whenever they visit a racecourse. The results show that racecourses large and small can all compete on the same level when it comes to quality and that is one of the unique attractions of British racing.”

Pam Foden, Head of Industry Development at VisitEngland said: “Our racecourses are incredibly popular, both for visitors at home and from abroad. The Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme is an excellent way for racegoers to feel confident that a day at the races will be a quality experience that meets, and in many cases exceeds, expectations.

The RCA Excellence Accolades reflect the high standards of quality found at racecourses across the country, recognising the wonderful ways that racecourses are going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure racegoers enjoy their day out.”

Head of Marketing at York Racecourse, James Brennan, said: “This is great news for the team at York and for our customers. This VisitEngland ranking is hard to earn and yet harder to retain so I am delighted that Team York impressed the assessor. We will do our very best to deliver on its promise for the 2016 season ahead”.