‘Heavy-handed’ smoking ban would have ‘negative impact’ on racing attendances

A ban on smoking in public areas would have a “negative impact” on racecourse attendances, which have already taken a 1.2 million hit since 2016.

Reports last week suggested the Government plans to bring in a tougher Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which would veto smoking in pub gardens, outside sports grounds, on restaurant terraces, outside nightclubs, in children’s parks, outside hospitals and universities.

Such a law being introduced at racecourses by Sir Keir Starmer, whose wife Victoria is a keen racegoer, has been described as “heavy-handed”, “unbelievable” and “the nanny state gone mad”.

Paul Swain, a spokesman for the Racecourse Association, which represents all of Britain’s 59 racecourses, said: “It’s not official and it’s early days yet. If and when it comes in, I’m sure we’ll be consulted and we’ll highlight the damage we think it would cause. It seems quite heavy-handed and I’m not quite sure how it would be policed — not just on racecourses.”

‘There would be a drop-off’ in attendances

Mark Spincer, a former smoker who manages media and political engagement for ARC racecourses, including Doncaster, which hosts the final Classic of the season, the St Leger, on Saturday, said: “Not smoking and vaping inside has made a positive difference. But outdoors? Surely that’s the choice of the individual. Initially I’m convinced it would have a negative impact.

“I worked in the pub industry in 2007 [when the ban on smoking inside became law] and we saw a real drop-off of the people who wanted to come in for a pint and a cigarette. That evolved and adapted into all-year-round beer gardens with heaters. But, for racing, I’m sure there’d be an initial drop-off especially if vaping was included; it would have a negative impact.”

The biggest impact is most likely to be on some of racing’s participants. Quite a few jockeys like to smoke outside the back door of the weighing room between rides while trainers Andrew Balding and Richard Fahey rarely watch a race live without a cigarette on the go.

“I do find it unbelievable [that they’d want to ban it outside],” said Malton trainer Fahey. “I’d still go racing though and I’d have to abide by the rules. It won’t make my horses run any faster or slower. It’s not stress-related – it’s just a habit I enjoy.”

One racing insider questioned where it would lead. “You can’t smoke on a racecourse? The next thing is they’ll stop you drinking and then they’ll stop you betting. It’s the nanny state gone mad.”

Racecourse attendances peaked at six million in 2016 but, like a lot of sports, they have not really recovered since the Covid pandemic. The trend is not down across the board; some meetings are holding up very well, others, like this year’s Cheltenham Festival, are not, with no real rhyme nor reason.

However, William Derby, the chief executive at York, said he believed it would make little difference to his racecourse’s crowd figures, which peak at between 30,000-35,000 for John Smith’s Cup day. “People adapt,” he said. “It’s societal. You watch reruns of The Sweeney and you think, ‘Did that [amount of smoking] really happen?’ I’m not a smoker myself but I respect the right of people to smoke, but an outdoor ban? I don’t buy that it would have a big effect on crowds.”