The races, which were moved by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to Newmarket after the York course suffered severe flooding earlier in the week, represent the growing decline in the number of people at racetracks around the UK.
A series of omnibus surveys, conducted for the BHA, show that 65 per cent of racegoers attend only once a year - a problem it has pledged to prioritise. The picture was not helped, by commercial broadcaster Channel 4's disclosure that only 500,000 viewers tuned in for the duel between Duke Of Marmalade and New Approach last Saturday.
Managing director at Newton Abbot race course, Pat Masterson, told UK newspaper, The Times that he believes a rethink of summer schedules is overdue."We went into this business to attract crowds through better weather but the climate patterns have changed," he said. "September now generally brings very good weather and we'd love to race through that month, with fewer fixtures squashed together earlier in the summer".
The BHA, however, pointed out that 7.5 per cent of the UK population attended racing in the past 12 months, a steep rise from the 5.2 per cent reported in 2003. The same period saw the proportion of racegoing 16 to 34-year-olds increase from 4.1 per cent to 7.5 per cent.
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