Friday Night Lights: New UK Approach Sees Strong Start

Racing's latest attempt to break into the youth market was a hit with punters, it was reported Feb. 7. The Friday Night Live series—a program of races under floodlights designed to attract young people—started belatedly Feb. 6 at Newcastle, after the initial meeting at Wolverhampton was lost to the weather. The fixture was broadcast live on ITV4 and Entain UK PR director Simon Clare said: "Betting turnover on Friday Night Live's first outing was very encouraging and exceeded expectations by some margin across Ladbrokes and Coral channels. "Turnover was over 60% higher than an average Racing League evening, and the Racing League nights themselves performed well as betting fixtures, so that's an incredibly healthy comparison. "The combination of a Friday night slot when the weather was miserable and people stayed in, ITV coverage, and a competitive card all seem to have worked a treat in betting terms, and that's before you attribute value to having thousands of young people having fun at a race meeting despite the pouring rain." Racing's newest initiative was conceived by Arena Racing Company and Invades, the burgeoning organization set up by Dominic Matcham that has pioneered student trips to tracks, with the Racing Post as a media partner. Thousands were in attendance, with a resident DJ blasting out anthems in the concourse, a pop-up pub, cheerleaders in the paddock, and even speed dating to spice up the entertainment off the track. Clare said: "It was a lot of fun to watch, different from the norm. The atmosphere crackled through the TV, the dating segments were bonkers, and Richard Hoiles and the presenting team did a great job in quite unique broadcasting conditions for horse racing. "Innovation in racing should always be valued and celebrated as that's the only way to find the right formulas to reach new audiences. This is definitely a good example of that and it was a great start."