Our Community

York Racecourse has been a member of the community since 1731. We are proud to recognise this and as a result Amy Swales, Head of Digital and Community Engagement, is our designated community officer. 

We are proud of our role in being a responsible and helpful neighbour as set out below.

Local Community Partners

We are proud to work closely with three chosen community charities and community groups, Clifton Green Primary School, Brainkind and Blueberry Academy. Each receive a one-off cash donation, in addition to a variety of benefits. The services of Remy, the Racecourse's equine ambassador, will also be offered to provide those "surprise and delight" moments.

Equine Ambassador - Remy (Goldream)

York Racecourse Equine Ambassador, Remy, continues to work within the community visitng a number of worthy causes within York. The positive impact of a thoroughbred meeting people was witnessed on emotional visits to both St Leonard’s and St Gemma’s Hospices; whilst it was a sheer joy to see the children of Clifton Green Primary School get to know the former sprint champion.

Remy's work was recognised by winning the Sir Peter O'Sullevan Charitable Trust Retraining of Racehorses Community Impact Award, voted for by the public.

Education in the Community

We host various school, college and university behind the scene tours around the site. Local schools, including Knavesmire School and Millthorpe School have visited, with many parties also coming from further afield.

We remain an active supporter of the racing industry initiative, “Racing to School” a charity that supports young people's learning and development through encouraging a broad interest in horseracing, both as a leisure activity and as a possible future career path. The free, nationwide educational activities are supported by the racing industry's community engagement programme 'Racing Together'.

We work closely with local schools in other ways. For example, the Scouts use the Stable Yard as a parking space for their mini-bus.

Knavesmire Primary use Car Park D as a sports field. A fantastic way to help the pupils learn new skills and build teamwork. 

Community Engagement

The biggest charity meeting in Britain, our Macmillan Charity Raceday has so far raised over £10 million for good causes, this has benefited both Macmillan Cancer Support and many local cancer related charities, such as St. Leonard’s Hospice and York Against Cancer. Come along and support Macmillan’s single biggest fundraising event in June.

We are proud to support local charities, schools and community organisations where we can with raffle prizes to assist in valuable fundraising activities. For a number of years York Racecourse has also sponsored the sporting hero category in the York Community Pride Awards.

York Racecourse arranges via the City of York Council for licenced charity collections on the public highway outside the racecourse on racedays. 

Where possible we lend our facilities to good causes, from the use of our trestle tables for community events to public services using the stands as a training venue with our compliments, including fire service training, police dog unit training and the Close Protection Team. Our grounds team work to support the weekly Park Run and the annual Cancer Research’s Race for Life through maintenance of the service road used.

We also work closely with the local police, including pioneering the initiative, Get a Band Get a Beer, to ensure compliance with licencing laws. On a raceday, in partnership between the Racecourse, NYP’s Neighbourhood Policing team and the City of York Council we have created a designated walking route to the city centre with the provision of toilets, signage and bins to ensure residents and racegoers continue to respect and contribute to a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone.

Racing Community

We proudly support Racing Together, the collective banner for British Racing’s community engagement. It provides for those who make up our industry, sustains our future and ensures our success is shared by the communities in which we operate.

We work closely with many racing charities, including Racing Welfare, Injured Jockeys Fund, New Beginnings and JETS, from hosting a coffee morning for retired stable staff to providing meeting rooms.

Throughout the year we have an active programme of events to encourage the next generation of racegoers from activities at our Family Sunday in September to sharing expertise as guest speakers at events.

Give and Gain Day

Each year the team from York Racecourse venture away from their usual day jobs to help their local community by taking part in the Give and Gain initiative.

The Give and Gain initiative is the global day of employee volunteering organised by Business in the Community (BITC). Each year, thousands of people from hundreds of companies take part in the official volunteering day.

York Racecourse has a regular dialogue with the City of York Council and local wards and appreciates the help and support it receives from the local community.

For more information please telephone 01904 683938.