• The AA-rated Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme assesses all areas of the raceday experience
• Average raceday experience score increases year-on-year 
• RCA Showcase Champion Racecourse York amongst the highest scorers
• York noted as amongst the “warmest welcomes”

York Racecourse continues to be amongst the tracks offering Britain’s highest-rated customer experience, as the final 2024 audits have been confirmed by The AA.

All the racecourses are measured by the AA against the same standards, known as the Racecourse Association Annual Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme (QARS), which has recently been published.

As it is intended as a tool to improve overall raceday experience, an absolute ranking is not published, however York retained its place in the top ten of UK venues, scoring well over 90%.

Adopting that learning principle, the York team had worked successfully to improve their score on the already high level of the previous year.

Having been named as RCA Showcase Champion Racecourse in November 2024, York cemented their year of achievement by being named amongst the highest-rated racecourses of the year for customer experience. Kelso, named the public’s choice for customer experience in the Racing Post Readers’ Award at the 2024 Showcase Awards, saw those views mirrored by The AA assessors. 

Market Rasen celebrated a fantastic improvement to their raceday experience score in 2024. The year-on-year score rose 14%-points to 90%, with The AA assessor complimenting the team for their acute attention to detail, warm hospitality and impressive remedial work to rectify previously recommended improvements.

The QARS has been running since 2011 and offers a comprehensive analysis of customer experience at Britain’s racecourses. The assessment covers all aspects of the raceday, including pre and post event. Trained assessors attend racedays in an unannounced visit and provide detailed feedback thereafter. 2024’s average score of 84.8% was an increase from 2023’s 81.6%, demonstrating the continued drive of British racecourses to enhance the customer experience.

RCA Excellence Accolades are awarded to racecourses scoring exceptionally well in areas which are known to be integral to customers’ overall enjoyment of the day. These vary year by year, with York being cited for the warmth of its welcome.

Paul Swain, Head of Raceday Experience & Communications at the RCA, commented: “Customer experience is integral to our sport’s future. Whether you attend with friends, family or on your own, a trip to the races should live up to the expectation that it will offer a fun and vibrant day out whilst watching elite sport.

“Having an authoritative voice in The AA confirm that our year-on-year scores have risen is testament to the significant emphasis placed on customer experience by racecourses.

“We look forward to collaborating with The AA, racecourses and wider industry stakeholders to maintain this positive trend in 2025.”

Simon Numphud, Managing Director at AA Media, commented: “2024 saw another great year of high-quality racecourse experiences, with an average increase of more than 3% compared to the previous year’s assessments. It also marked the first year The AA undertook the Scottish racecourse assessments on behalf of the RCA.

“2024’s scores are a true testament to the hard work and commitment that each racecourse and their respective teams achieve.”

Assessments for the 2025 Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme will commence shortly.