Racegoer feedback leads winter developments at Newton Abbot ahead of season opener

The finishing touches to Newton Abbot Racecourse’s extensive winter re-development programme are being made ahead of the start of the new season at Newton Abbot on Easter Saturday 20 April.

Listening closely to feedback from racegoers over recent years has led the focus of the annual re-development programme.

One of the biggest areas to be developed is the Course Enclosure which now features a brand-new café selling a selection of drinks, cakes, sweets and more, plus a brand-new bar within the grandstand.

The Paddock Enclosure has been extended to cater for the growing number of racegoers who choose to enjoy the day’s racing in the Paddock. This now reaches down as far as the Alfresco catering outlet which continues to serve both Course and Paddock Enclosure customers.

With a view to improving the experience for families, the Family Enclosure has been moved from the centre of the course to the main side of the racecourse, located on the rails in front of the Course Grandstand. Situated in a secure, gated enclosure, the new family area offers a great view of the racing action with direct access to all of the facilities, bookmakers, cafes, bars and catering outlets of the main racecourse.

In another win for families this year, the racecourse has extended its free entry for children policy to include all children under the age of 18 (when accompanied by an adult), as well as retaining its free entry offer for students with a valid photo ID / NUS card.

Another improvement which is set to be well received by racegoers is the addition of free Wi-Fi around the racecourse, including the facility to now pay for tickets on the gate via card rather than cash only.

Other areas to benefit over the winter programme are the Winning Post Restaurant which has been refurbished ready for the season opener at Easter, alongside the ladies toilets at the course.

As well as improved facilities, this year the racecourse has actually reduced admission prices for 15 of its 19 fixtures, with weekday admission for the Course Enclosure falling to just £10 or £18 for the Paddock Enclosure.

Tickets for the racecourse’s four-weekend fixtures will cost just £14 for Course admission or £22 for Paddock admission, with the chance to save up to 10% on Paddock admission when booking online in advance via the racecourse’s website.

Patrick Masterson, Managing Director at Newton Abbot Racecourse said: “Being set in the middle of a floodplain means that we are faced with planning challenges when it comes to developments at the course.

“Whilst we would have liked to have developed our facilities in the centre of the course, planning restrictions have meant that this is not possible and so we have had to turn our attention to existing areas of the course to identify ways to improve our facilities.

“Improving the experience for families has been an important focus for us and we hope that the new location for the Family Enclosure will make a big difference with families as they will no longer need to cross the track to pick up a bite to eat or place a bet.”

Racing returns to Newton Abbot Racecourse on Easter Saturday 20 April with the first 200 children through the gates on the day receiving a free Easter egg.

Tickets are on sale now via the racecourse website at www.newtonabbotracing.com or by calling 01626 353235.