Newbury Racecourse

ROA Racecourse of the Year
Newbury won the coveted title of Racecourse of the Year in the ROA/Racing Post Horseracing Awards for an unprecedented fourth time in 2007. Sponsored by Allertons Logistics, and voted for by ROA members, the award recognises the most owner-friendly course.
Managing Director, Mark Kershaw, expressed his delight following the Award, “'We are thrilled to have received this prestigious award for the 4th consecutive year which is a great reflection on all my staff here at Newbury.  We shall continue to strive towards providing even better racing and facilities with a friendly atmosphere in 2008 and look forward to welcoming all owners and to try and make it 5 times in a row, but the competition is getting tougher!”

ROA Gold Standard
Newbury Racecourse was the first major racecourse in the south of England to receive a national accolade from the country’s racehorse owners. The award of the ‘Gold Standard’ plaque by the Racehorse Owners Association was first presented in 2006 and has been awarded again for 2007.

The award recognises overall excellence in the raceday experience for owners, their horses and stable staff, and it is reviewed annually. Newbury is one of just 11 racecourses among the 59 in Britain to receive the coveted Gold Standard.

Neil Wyatt Groundstaff Awards
In 2007, Clerk of the Course Richard Osgood and his groundstaff team were delighted to win the Dual Purpose category in these annual Awards.

The Awards, organised by the Racecourse Association, are in their twelfth year and are generously sponsored by the Tote who give the winner of each category £2200 with £1200 to be spent on Machinery and £1000 to be split between the groundstaff team. 

The Committee panel comprised of representatives of the Tote, National Trainers Federation and Jockeys Association, with support from the BHA Course Inspectors, commended the innovative team and particularly recognised the excellent communication of raceday information regarding the state of the track by the team at Newbury Racecourse.

Managing Director, Mark Kershaw said, “We are absolutely thrilled and delighted to receive this award.  The team here work really hard all year round and to be recognised in this way is a great honour for them. They take great pride in the track and this award is something they have wanted to win for many years”

The Committee noted that 2007 had been a difficult year for the groundstaff at many racecourses due to the weather conditions, which led to an unprecedented 35 meetings being abandoned due to waterlogging in June, July and August including Newbury’s July meeting. 

Totesport spokesman Damian Walker who occupies a position on the panel of judges said, “Groundstaff are without doubt amongst the unsung heroes of our industry. There is so much scrutiny of ground conditions now and so much pressure to run more and more fixtures that having the right groundstaff team is vital to a successful racecourse. ”
Rupert Arnold from the National Trainers Federation said: “The winners of these awards have demonstrated outstanding standards in the condition of the racing surface and general racecourse maintenance and the NTF is delighted to recognise their efforts.”