Arena Racing Company

Mark Spincer will become the new chief executive officer of Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR). He will replace Charlie Boss, who is leaving at the end of the year and will report to JCR group chief executive Jim Mullen. However, a formal start date for Spincer has not been set. Formerly from Arena Racing Company (ARC), Spincer was managing director of the racing division there since January of 2020. He was also formerly group operations director and executive director of Newcastle and Doncaster Racecourses. Mullen said, "Mark is a superb operator...

Arena Racing Company (ARC) have launched a new all-weather series called Friday Night Live. The initiative has been created in partnership with Invades, the company behind many student racedays, and comprises five Friday evening fixtures worth over £200,000 per meeting, with the aim of attracting 18 to 25-year-old racegoers. The 35 races will be broadcast live across both Sky Sports Racing and ITV Racing from January to March next year at Wolverhampton, Newcastle and Southwell - with the two first-named tracks hosting a pair of meetings each. ARC group director...

The £1-million All-Weather Bonus scheme, which runs from October 21 to Good Friday, April 3 has returned, Arena Racing Company (ARC) announced on Monday. Runners at ARC's four all-weather tracks - Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Southwell and Wolverhampton - will compete for a range of bonus prizes, including five 'Horse of the Month' competitions and the overall £100,000 'Horse of the Year' title. The number of bonus money on offer has increased by £150,000 for 2025/26 - along with a change to the points system for the Horse of the Month...

Clarke Johnstone and Sparky Lad (Smart Missile) won the first edition of the Arena Racing Company (ARC) Racehorse to Eventer Challenge at the Cornbury House Horse Trials. They earned £45,000 for their victory. Owned by Tim Boland, Sparky Lad is out of the More Than Ready mare Lady Hepburn and was formerly trained during his racing days by Chris Waller. Clarke said, "This is the biggest prize I've won during my career - the prize is amazing and the initiative is fantastic, so thank you very much to Jayne McGivern,...

The entries for the inaugural £50,000 Arena Racing Company (ARC) Racehorse to Eventer Challenge Cup at Cornbury House Horse Trials feature several former racehorses. The event will be held from September 10-14 in Oxfordshire. The 49-strong entries will compete for a first-place prize of £45,000. Some of the retrained horses have learned their new craft at the hands of William Fox-Pitt, Bubby Upton, Piggy March, Izzy Taylor and Oliver Townend. This  new class, designed to promote and showcase the suitability of ex-racehorses for eventing, is the brainchild of Jayne McGivern...

The all-weather season drew to a close on Good Friday, April 18, with Tony Carroll named the All-Weather Champion Trainer for the first time. Carroll, who finished second to Mick Appleby last season, saddled 57 winners, 11 clear of his nearest rival, James Owen. "For me personally, it is a great achievement and I am very proud of it," said Carroll. "A big thank you to the team at home--Titch, Mary, and everybody else involved. They are people that never go racing and are never seen, but they are the...

Season 12 of the All-Weather Championships kicks off at Newcastle on Tuesday, October 22, and once again culminates on Good Friday, April 18, with Finals Day at Newcastle and the All-Weather Vase at Lingfield Park. The £1-million Finals Day at Newcastle includes amendments to the BetUK Marathon Final, with the field size increased to 20 and a prize fund of £175,000 (from £150,000). The structure of the All-Weather Championships remains largely unchanged, with horses requiring a minimum of three runs on all-weather surfaces in Britain, Ireland and France during the...

Ascot Racecourse is set to return record prize-money of £17.5 million to the sport in 2024, having announced on Monday its financial results for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023. Turnover for that period rose by 9% to £110.9 million, with a pre-tax profit of £5.9 million--up from £3.4 million in 2022. The 2023 business summary highlighted several other points of interest: Gross profit percentage fell from 34.5% to 33.8%, reflecting increased costs and general inflationary economic conditions. Profit before tax increased by £2.5 million but EBITDA (Earnings Before...

At the time, one doesn't know if a minor skirmish will turn out to have been the opening salvo in a protracted war or merely a here-today-gone-tomorrow storm in a tea-cup. Regarding British racing's latest contretemps, we can only guess what will follow; but it is likely that the unexpected decision by Flutter (the parent company of several major bookmaking firms including Paddy Power and Sky Bet) not to take bets on Wednesday's meeting at Bath is merely the start of a major shake-up of the sport's finances. Flutter's decision...

Arena Racing Company (ARC), Racecourse Media Group (RMG), Tabcorp and 1/ST CONTENT have announced a new strategic alliance which brings together four content leaders of the horse and greyhound racing world, creating a network of rights holders that will distribute content across multiple international markets. ARC is the largest racing group in the UK, operating a total of 16 racecourses and 5 greyhound stadia around the country, while RMG is a British-based media rights management company. In Australia, Tabcorp is the largest gambling company operating multichannel wagering, media and gaming...

The UK Tote Group and Singapore Pools have signed a new agreement to commingle pools, made in partnership with Arena Racing Company (ARC) and Racecourse Media Group (RMG) as the media rights holders for British racing's 59 racecourses. The agreement sees both organisations combine liquidity, with customers of Singapore Pools betting into the UK Tote's pools on British meetings, creating bigger UK pools and ensuring an improved financial return to the sport. Simon Leong, chief product officer of Singapore Pools, said, "We are delighted to collaborate with the UK Tote...

Arena Racing Company has partnered with the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation to create a series of apprenticeships at Lingfield Park Racecourse. The partnership, brought together by The Racing Pathway, will build an employee pipeline with diverse lived experiences and cultures, as well as supporting succession into more senior roles within the business. The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, which fosters opportunities for marginalised young people in the UK, provides mentoring, coaching, work experience opportunities, and bursaries for education and training. Lingfield is seeking applicants aged between 16-24, from ethnically diverse backgrounds,...