Saturday 2nd May saw more than 100 Cambridge students embark for the Rowley Mile Racecourse for the premier spectacle of the 2000 Guineas Festival. A midday rendezvous on Queens Road and a forty-minute coach journey preceded a sweltering afternoon on the course, marking the first of the five ‘classics’ which structure the flat racing season.

In the 2000 Guineas, trainer George Boughie’s Bow Echo stormed home to win with 20-year-old Billy Loughnane onboard in the famous colours of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum. Rising in his stirrups for the crowd as he crossed the post, Loughnane revelled in parade ring applause after securing his first classic.

The racecourse, in a similar fashion to many other prestigious tracks, had been decked out to meet a plethora of needs and interests. Music stages, golf simulators, and former world darts champions accompanied the day’s racing. An unusually jam-packed schedule of nine races ensued, with a favourites index of 65 ensuring a relatively even day for both punters and bookies alike.

“Initiatives such as the Jockey Club’s 18-24 RacePass offer discounts of up to 50% off for young people”

The expansion of the student race day to Cambridgeshire marks another milestone for a recent upsurge in youth engagement in the sport. Invades racedays operate at a dozen racecourses across the country, providing accessibility to a sport which is in need of new blood. Furthermore, initiatives such as the Jockey Club’s 18-24 Racepass offer discounts of up to 50% off for young people. These organisations provide separate enclosures for the younger crowd, ensuring a more jovial atmosphere than the typical grandstand experience.

This separation, however, is telling of a disparity between older and younger followers of the sport. While many of the senior figures in horse racing understand the necessity of keeping the industry in business by introducing a new generation, they are equally aware of the need to maintain its organic integrity. There is a fear that the ‘festivalisation’ of the sport may detract from the true stars – the horses. In part due to their enduring popularity, the Cheltenham, Aintree, and Royal Ascot festivals have evaded such ‘invasion’.

“The most controversial debate surrounding horse racing is animal welfare”

These initiatives have succeeded in bolstering the popularity of the sport, with 6000 strong student crowds regularly attending Newcastle’s all-weather meetings. However, two pitfalls are consistently voiced by critics. The combination of alcohol and irresponsible gambling – induced by the former – poses the threat of drawing young people into dangerous habits. Criticism has also been levelled at the potentially rowdy atmosphere which these contribute to, straying from the sport’s traditional civility and cordiality. The most controversial debate surrounding horse racing is animal welfare. Although the Grand National saw no deaths despite its challenging obstacles and terrain, jockey Paul Townend received backlash for his ride on Gold Dancer the previous day. Townend’s victory on the seven-year-old gelding was marred by its untimely death soon after the race had finished, following a dangerous landing at the last fence. The ensuing backlash characterises the opposing factions of protesting animal activists and race-goers outside courses during major meetings. Those in opposition to the sport often hold up cards with slogans of: ‘You bet, they die’.

In the face of this criticism, horse racing remains enduringly popular, bolstered by a new dynamic to the sport as a result of shifts in its demographic and culture. Furthermore, the necessity of these shifts is evident. Despite its risks, on-course gambling sustains independent bookmakers in the face of potential monopolies by online gambling. In addition, the purchase and consumption of food and beverages play a similar role in keeping racecourses profitable, with the danger of faltering investment evident through the issues faced by Goodwood and Chelmsford’s respective racecourses. While the sport will undoubtedly succeed in adapting to these cultural changes, the economic benefits that participation by younger generations continues to bring are paramount.