The Racecourse Association’s (RCA) Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme (QARS) has once again seen all British racecourses accredited as ‘good’ or better.

 

In Scotland, Ayr, Hamilton Park and Musselburgh all retained their five-star ratings, confirming the long-standing offering of excellence to racegoers and recognising their continued investment into the raceday experience. Perth retained their four-star rating and Kelso improved from a three-star to a four-star attraction for the first time, meaning that all racecourses in Scotland are now considered excellent or exceptional venues by VisitScotland.

 

Each racecourse is visited by a trained assessor from LiveTourism or VisitScotland whose job is to objectively assesses the raceday experience. This assessment includes all customer touchpoints from the raceday and also comprises pre and post event information.

 

LiveTourism, responsible for all assessments in England and Wales, confirmed the top 11 racecourses for raceday experience in 2019 as Aintree, Ascot, Beverley, Cheltenham, Chester, Newbury, Newmarket (July), Wetherby, Wincanton and York. The venues included in this prestigious list scored impressively throughout their assessments particularly in the core Racecourse section where the average score was 88.2%.

 

RCA Excellence Accolades were presented to racecourses that achieved exemplary scores in specific areas of the assessments. The accolades were presented to racecourses at the 2019 Showcase & Awards at Hamilton Park Racecourse in November.

 

Racing in Scotland this week begins with Kelso on Monday and continues with the bet365 Scottish Cheltenham Trials meeting at Musselburgh on Saturday and Sunday.

 

The two-day extravaganza boasts over £250,000 in prize money and in 2015 it saw a certain Bryony Frost ride her first winner under Rules on Current Event in the Scottish Foxhunter Chase.

 

So who knows what the horses and jockeys featuring at this year’s fixture will go on to achieve.  

 

Don’t forget to check out our Twitter feed (@ScottishRacing) and www.scottishracing.co.uk for all the latest news.