The Jockey Club is the holding company who operate Warwick Racecourse on St Marys Lands. Previous proposals to build a hotel on St Marys Lands have been rejected by the majority of Warwickians. We are now told that lack of funding would prevent another attempt at a hotel build on the Racecourse. However, the Jockey Club’s financial results below appear to show that they are doing rather well and they are investing in capital projects.
THE JOCKEY CLUB ANNOUNCES FULL-YEAR FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR 2023
Press Release 8th August 2024
The Jockey Club, the largest employer and commercial organisation in British horseracing, today announces its full year financial results for January to December 2023 and summarises its investments during that period in line with its commitment to act for the long term good of the sport.
The results include turnover of £243.4 million, up £7.3 million (3 per cent) on 2022 and driven largely by increased hospitality sales and sponsorship.
Total prize money of more than £58.2 million was distributed by The Jockey Club in 2023, which included a contribution from its own resources of £30.3 million, up £1.9 million and so impacting reported profit by that amount, from a previous record of £28.4 million in 2022.
The Jockey Club continued to invest in its facilities, with £17.1 million invested in capital expenditure projects in 2023, compared with £11.4 million in the previous 12 months, £3 million in 2020 and £8.4 million in 2019.
In 2023, these capital expenditure projects included a multi-million pound renovation of facilities at Huntingdon Racecourse with the aim of minimising the impact of future flooding as well as significant upgrades to the stables and racing staff canteen. It also included a £1 million refurbishment of the weighing room at Warwick in order to meet new industry standards and completion of a £1.5 million project on the champagne bar and weighing room at Newmarket’s July Course.
A further £2 million was invested into track and equine facilities at The Jockey Club’s 15 racecourses, and Jockey Club Estates also completed a number of improvements to the training facilities and gallops in Newmarket and Lambourn.
Significant progress continued to be made on reducing The Jockey Club’s long term net debt position which in December 2023 stood at £53.9 million, down £6 million year-on-year. It was £105.8 million at its peak in 2015.
The Jockey Club’s core operating profit was £12.7 million, down from £20.2 million in 2022.