Spectator demand for the sport of kings

Research question: For the case of Great Britain, we construct and estimate a model to capture influences on attendances at horserace meetings. Research methods: Fixed effects regression analysis is employed in analysing a data set containing information on attendances at exactly 24,000 race-days between 2001 and 2018. Results and findings: Patterns of demand are similar to those found for other sports. E.g., attendance is higher at weekends and in the warmer months and is sensitive to the quality of the racing on offer; it falls when competing with some televised sport of national significance. Controlling for a large number of characteristics, the pattern of results on year dummies included in the specification implies considerable decline in public interest in attending race-days over the data period. Implications: The pronounced negative trend in attendance at race events suggests a need for modernisation of the sport including close attention to animal welfare issues, which might partly account for apparently growing public disillusion with the sport.