When people think of Go Racing In Yorkshire today, they think of the Summer Festival, the season ticket, collaborative marketing campaigns and a united voice for one of Britain’s strongest racing regions.

But in 1976, none of that existed.

Instead, Yorkshire’s racecourses largely worked independently, marketing budgets were tiny, and the very concept of racecourse marketing was still in its infancy.

“It was a time of huge economic gloom,” recalled Simon Channon, who worked for the Racing Information Bureau (RIB), the organisation responsible for promoting racing nationally.

“Wilson’s government was in trouble, the unions were running the country, crowds were going down and racing needed to think differently.”

A Meeting That Changed Everything

The catalyst came through Tony Fairburn, head of the Racing Information Bureau.

Rather than visiting Yorkshire’s racecourses individually, Fairburn recognised something unique about the county.

“He had the suggestion that instead of going to each of the Yorkshire courses individually, because of the geographic location, he could knock off nine in one go,” Simon explained. “Maybe there was a benefit in working together.”

The concept meeting took place at York Racecourse on 3 February 1976.

Among those around the table were Simon Channon, Norman Gundill of Pontefract Racecourse, John Sanderson, representing York, Catterick and Redcar, and other influential figures from Yorkshire racing.

Norman still has the diary entry recording that historic moment.

“I’ve found my diary,” he said. “Tuesday, 3rd February, 1976, two o’clock – York Racecourse advertising. I’m certain that was our initial discussion and our first meeting as Go Racing In Yorkshire was Monday 28^th June, 1976.”

The idea itself wasn’t controversial.

“The question was, are we going to do anything?” Norman remembered. “There wasn’t a lot of discussion about that.”

The bigger debate?

What to call it.

“There was a split vote,” he laughed. “Were we coming or going? Come Racing in Yorkshire or Go Racing in Yorkshire.”

Thankfully for future generations, Go Racing In Yorkshire won.

Racing Was a Different World

To understand how revolutionary the idea was, it’s important to appreciate what racing looked like in the 1970s.

Many racecourses were still run by retired military officers or members of the aristocracy.

“Marketing, per se, was an unknown skill,” Simon said.

“Most courses didn’t have marketing executives. The majority were run by retired colonels whose interest in advertising and promotion was the square root of absolutely nothing.”

At Pontefract, Norman recalled spending around £1,000 annually on promotion.

“We did fixture posters for pubs and clubs and some newspaper advertising. That was basically it.”

Pooling resources suddenly made sense.

“If we’re each spending around £1,000, we’re scratching the surface,” Norman explained. “Put it all together and with £9,000 we can actually do something.”

Yorkshire Before Competition

From the outset, Go Racing In Yorkshire had a philosophy that still underpins its work today.

“The nine courses should get together rather than compete with each other,” Simon explained.

“We wanted to market Yorkshire racing to get people not to go elsewhere. Yorkshire had plenty to offer.”

Norman agreed.

“Whether people actually went racing depended on all sorts of things we couldn’t control – holidays, family commitments and everything else.

“What we wanted to say was: we’ve all these days racing in Yorkshire. Choose one and come.”

Rather than fighting over the same audience, Yorkshire racecourses began working collectively to grow the market.

It was a remarkably modern concept.

The Season Ticket Revolution

One of the earliest and most successful innovations arrived in 1979.

The Go Racing In Yorkshire Season Ticket was introduced, giving racegoers access to all Yorkshire fixtures for a single fee.

“It was capped at 100 ticket holders at £100,” Simon recalled.

Norman remembers that bookmakers were excluded from purchasing them.

Promotion relied heavily on relationships with journalists.

At the time, newspapers devoted significant space to racing coverage.

“The Times, Telegraph, Express and Mail all had northern correspondents,” Simon explained.

“The Yorkshire Post, Sheffield Star and York Evening Press all had racing reporters.

“There was a sympathetic group of journalists who helped us promote it.”

The season ticket generated additional income and, crucially, created funds for further marketing.

“It funded a lot of advertising that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do,” Norman said.

Learning to Market

By modern standards, the early campaigns were basic.

But they were innovative for their time.

Go Racing In Yorkshire exhibited at the Great Yorkshire Show, using a borrowed marquee, race footage and giveaways to promote the season ticket.

“We turned up and did a day each on the stand,” Norman recalled.

The organisation later secured one of its earliest television advertisements through Channel 4.

An animated version of the Go Racing In Yorkshire logo appeared on screen.

“It was virtually free,” Simon remembered.

“It was probably the first contemporary marketing we did.”

Local radio also became a valuable partner.

Inspired by Terry Wogan’s popular “Wogan’s Wager”, Yorkshire racecourses began providing morning racing previews to BBC local radio stations.

“It was free publicity,” Simon said.

“We were increasing our reach all the time.”

The Press Lunch

Another initiative that became part of Yorkshire racing folklore was the annual press lunch.

John Sanderson recalled that  it was initially designed to improve relationships with journalists but evolved into one of racing’s most respected gatherings.

“It developed into one of the year’s events,” Norman said.

“We had chairmen of the Levy Board and senior figures from the sport coming to speak.”

People travelled from London specifically to attend.

The lunch remains an important fixture in Yorkshire racing’s calendar today, albeit in a different format.

Reinvention and the Summer Festival

Like any long-running organisation, Go Racing In Yorkshire experienced periods of self-reflection.

“There were times we’d sit down and ask, ‘Do we really want to carry on with this?'” John admitted.

“But the rest of racing was pointing at Yorkshire as the example of how to do it.”

Simon returned to the organisation in 2005 after being asked to review its future.

His conclusion?

The concept still worked.

It simply needed fresh ideas and renewed investment.

One of those ideas would become transformational.

Working alongside Jo Mapletoft from Doncaster Racecourse, the concept for the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival was born.

The inaugural festival launched in 2008.

Sky Bet provided initial sponsorship support and have continued their support to this day. After the first year, Welcome to Yorkshire also became involved.

Standing on the balcony at Ripon Racecourse with Gary Verity, the then Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, Simon remembers a conversation that would change the scale of the event.

Welcome To Yorkshire were keen to get involved and by co-sponsoring the event, it received a welcome cash injection.

That relationship helped propel the Summer Festival to new heights.

The Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival continues today, showcasing everything that racing has to offer over one week in the county.

A Legacy to Be Proud Of

Looking back across five decades, there is immense pride in what was achieved.

“I think it’s been an incredible success story,” Norman reflected.

“Yes, it’s gone up and down, but to keep going for that length of time… we’d never have thought it.”

What began as a meeting of forward-thinking individuals in an uncertain economic climate became a blueprint copied elsewhere in Britain.

The racing world has changed dramatically since 1976.

Technology has transformed communications. Marketing has evolved beyond recognition. Racecourses themselves have modernised.

Yet the founding principle remains remarkably simple.

Yorkshire is stronger together.

And thanks to the vision of those early pioneers, generations of racegoers have benefited from an organisation built not on competition, but collaboration.

Fifty years on, Go Racing In Yorkshire continues to prove that some of the best ideas really do stand the test of time.