• Five finalists in each of the seven  Showcase categories announced.
• Showcase Awards follow daytime programme with guest speakers from Great British Racing, Coral, Center Parcs, Liverpool FC and Everton FC.
• Haydock Park Racecourse, Thursday 13 November 2014.

The Racecourse Association (RCA) has today announced the finalists for the 2014 Showcase Awards, following a record number of 74 entries from 40 racecourses.

The Showcase Awards, now in their fifth year, celebrate excellence and innovation in the raceday experience and see five finalists in each of the seven categories; All About the Horse, Best Campaign, Corporate Social Responsibility, Events, Food & Beverage, Operational Excellence and Owners’ Experience, decided by an independent judging panel.

At the end of the evening, the overall Showcase Champion will be named, following on from Chester, Goodwood and Doncaster as winners of the top accolade in previous years.

2014 will also see the return of the #TopSpot and RCA Showcase Customer Service Awards, which have been collated via social media. Followers of the @RCAShowcase Twitter feed have been submitting #TopSpots throughout the year, quick and easy to implement ideas that really boost the raceday experience for customers. The RCA Customer Service Award has seen racegoers send in their nominations of excellent customer service on a racecourse, with the winning entrant receiving a VIP day out.

Finally, the evening will, for the second year, see the announcement of the Groundstaff Champion, in association with Pitchcare, Watt Fences and ALS, which was won by the team at Kelso Racecourse in 2013.

The RCA Showcase Awards in the evening follow on from a daytime programme of guest speakers and discussion topics, which will this year focus on community work as well as the future of customer expectations. Guest speakers include representatives of Great British Racing, Coral and Center Parcs as well as Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs.

“We have been delighted with the entries received for the Showcase Awards this year, both in terms of quality and quantity,” commented RCA Racecourse Services Director Caroline Davies.

“The breadth and depth of quality across the racecourses has been fantastic and the judges certainly had a difficult job in deciding their winners and, of course, the overall Showcase Champion.

“We have an excellent daytime programme planned for 13 November at Haydock Park, with a great mix of speakers from both inside and outside of racing to offer their expertise and share ideas.”

Tickets to both the daytime programme and evening Showcase Awards are available to book now, please click here for more information.

The RCA Showcase Awards Finalists 2014:

All About The Horse

Exeter- Blackdown Building Retired Racehorse Stable

Fontwell Park and Brighton – Inside Racing

Goodwood – Sunday School

Hamilton Park and Scottish Racing – The Horse Comes First Raceday

Huntingdon – Gerald!

Best Campaign

Arena Racing Company –  The All Weather Championships

Ascot – Shergar Cup Digital

Beverley – Easter Egg Tree Campaign

Pontefract – 80s Night

Warwick – The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Corporate Social Responsibility

Beverley – War Horse Project

Cartmel – Our Community

Hamilton Park – Funding A Marie Curie Nurse

Ripon – The Great War Remembered

York – The Grand Départ

Event

Ascot –  The Red Bull Air Race

Chester – Winter Wonderland

Doncaster – Annual Family Day

Lingfield Park – The All Weather Championship Finals Day

Pontefract- Flat Caps And Whippets

Food & Beverage

Ascot- On 5

Cartmel- The Tented Cartmel Village

Cheltenham and Epsom Downs – Chez Roux at Fairlawne and Prince’s Lawn

Doncaster- The Old Weighing Room

Goodwood- From Field to Fork

Operational Excellence

Cartmel- Camping On The Course

Exeter- C&E To The Fore

Musselburgh- Mission Impossible

Salisbury- A ‘Top Rank’ Traffic Solution

Wincanton- Girl Guiding 100th Anniversary Celebration

Owners Experience

Haydock Park – Haydock Park Owners & Trainers Experience

Kempton Park – Upgrading the Owners & Trainers Experience

Nottingham – Transforming The Owners Experience

Windsor – Owners And Trainers Facility Renovation

York – Winning Connections and Northern End Redevelopment

Notes for Editors:

• The Racecourse Association is the representative body of 58 of the 59 British racecourses.
• The fifth annual RCA Showcase & Awards will take place at Haydock Park Racecourse on Thursday 13 October 2014.
• The independent judging panel consisted of representatives from the RCA, Harrison:Fraser, VisitEngland, Center Parcs, Racing Enterprises Ltd and the Racehorse Owners Association.
• Previous Showcase Champions are Chester (2013), Goodwood (2012) and Doncaster (2011).
• Kelso Racecourse were named inaugural Groundstaff Champions in 2013.
• Details of all Showcase Finalists are available to view via www.britishracecourses.org.
• Winners will be announced live on the evening via the @RCAShowcase twitter feed.

For more information, please contact Sam Cone or Paul Swain at the RCA on 01344 626067 or visit www.britishracecourses.org