BHA’s Project Beacon Highlights Millions of Potential Racing Fans

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has published the findings of its Project Beacon study, which seeks to understand the biggest trends among fans and how they see the sport.

Many Open-Minded Enthusiasts Could Be Converted into Fans

The BHA described Project Beacon as the “most in-depth piece of customer research ever undertaken in the sport. It added that over 7,500 people across the UK and Ireland participated in the study, making it a “nationally representative study” on the public’s views on racing.

The study learned that there are around 25 million adults across the UK and Ireland who are “open to racing.” This group comprises people who do not reject horseracing even if they are not currently involved with the sport. Project Beacon determined that as many as 17 million of these people are potential or casual fans.

The “open to racing” group also includes people who’ve occasionally dabbled in horseracing, which includes “open-minded rookies” who are willing to give the sport a chance, “social stakers” who like it because of the social betting element, and “event lifters” who like to visit big events. In addition to that, there are people who can be defined as “serious bettors” and “racing experts” – people who are already deeply involved with the sport.

Project Beacon determined that there are 7.1 million open-minded rookies and social stakers who potentially can be converted into more serious fans of the sport. It also determined that the serious bettors, event lifters and racing experts are a core audience that totals 9 million people and is “crucial to retain.”

The study also provided the BHA with insight into what motivates its audiences and how to reach them.

BHA Vows to Make Improvements Amid Certain Public Concerns

In the meantime, Project Beacon also outlined some challenges, including the public’s biggest concerns about the sport. By far, most people have expressed concerns about the welfare of the horses involved in the sport. However, there have also been those who have failed to establish a relevant emotional link to horseracing in order to feel involved in it.

As a result, the BHA vowed to continue working on introducing important improvements in key areas, including:

• Improving the raceday experiences and introducing better betting products
• Making ownership more accessible to the public
• Spreading awareness of the importance of horse welfare to the sport
• Making racing more accessible and easier to understand for newer fans
• Embracing a more structured approach to storytelling
• Creating stronger emotional connections to the industry as a whole

The BHA is working on establishing a Project Beacon delivery office, the role of which will be to set priorities, secure and distribute resources and coordinate improvements.

In the meantime, the BHA recognized the importance of other initiatives that have empowered the horseracing sector, including the “Going is Good” promotional campaign, the HorsePWR campaign, Great British Racing’s efforts and initiatives such as Premier Racedays.

This publication comes shortly after the BHA enhanced its team with new appointments.