Since its launch on Sky Channel 418 in May, attherace's audience rose to 326,153 in July - a 10 percent increase on June's figures. The station also reported a peak weekly audience in July of 774,000.
These figures will bode well for the interactive betting service which will be launched later this year, according to Roger Withers, the chairman of track-owner Arena Leisure, which today announced its half-year results for the six months ending June 30.
"Despite the longer than anticipated time to launch the interactive betting service on Sky, the financial performance of attheraces has been maintained in line with expectations, as non-betting revenues have exceeded initial forecasts and costs have been tightly controlled," Withers told the London Stock Exchange.
The attheraces website, www.attheraces.co.uk, has attracted 41,000 registrations, 238,000 bets and generated a turnover of about £1.8million ($2.2m/EUR2.8m) since its launch in December 2001.
But Andrew Lee, a leading sports analyst at international investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, warns investors that attheraces.com is underperforming: "Revenues of under £2m since December 2001 from attheraces' internet operations were unimpressive and do not bode well for the interactive betting launch.
"The Group's [Arena's] inability to successfully launch the interactive betting channel on time has also compounded negative seintiment in the stock."
Speaking about the recent inquiry launched by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) into the structure of horseracing and the role of the British Horseracing Board, Withers said the following:
"We would welcome initiatives that facilitate a competitive and commercial environment for all, and one in which closer contact and positive working relationships with all our customers are encouraged. It is vital that such initiatives protect the reputation and quality of the world's best horseracing."
Withers also welcomed the UK government's recommendations to relax the gambling laws:
"We continue to evaluate the opportunities that this should bring to our racecourse operations in the areas of hotels, casinos and gaming halls."
