In recent months, TikTok feeds have been full of clips from Cheltenham balconies, Instagram stories showing students arriving at Ascot, and WhatsApp groups organising race days with the same excitement as a music festival. These snapshots raise an old question with a new urgency: does horse racing still resonate with younger audiences in Britain, or is it becoming a sport for an ageing crowd?
Millennials Show Up, Gen Z Holds Back
The data suggests that millennials are the engine of racing’s younger revival. Although they make up only about a fifth of the UK population, they account for nearly half of all racegoers. That shift has lowered the average racegoer age to around 45, compared to 47 across most other sports. Racecourses offering free entry for under-18s have also seen encouraging results, with family fixtures enjoying growth rates three times higher than normal.
Generation Z, however, is more complicated. Studies from British universities point to persistent ethical concerns around horse welfare, costs, and a sense of cultural distance. Younger audiences often enjoy the spectacle and social element but question whether the sport’s traditions align with their values. Without better transparency and welfare initiatives, many analysts believe Gen Z’s engagement will be short-lived.
Betting Patterns Among Young Adults
The picture shifts again when it comes to betting. Surveys show that almost half of 18- to 25-year-old punters have increased their betting on horse racing in the past year, compared with fewer than one in ten across all age groups. Among those who do bet, there’s a notable preference for jumps racing over Flat racing, with Cheltenham and Aintree proving especially popular.
Yet beyond this core of enthusiasts, many younger people only bet occasionally—often socially, for big festivals, or as part of a group experience. Horse racing does not feature as a daily or weekly habit for most, especially when compared with football accumulators or mobile-friendly markets like esports.
Attendance in Transition
Racing has struggled with declining attendances in the past decade, losing hundreds of thousands of visitors before the pandemic and dropping below five million annual racegoers in 2022. However, recent reports suggest a modest recovery. Average attendance per fixture has increased for three consecutive years, and student ticket initiatives are beginning to make a difference. One scheme sold over 120,000 discounted tickets to university students in a single year, a small but meaningful contribution to the sport’s footfall.
Resistance exists among some traditionalists, who view cheaper tickets and student-focused marketing as a dilution of racing’s image. But younger attendance is widely regarded as essential to the sport’s long-term survival.
What Younger Generations Want
Several themes are consistent across reports and surveys:
- Social appeal over tradition. Young racegoers see a day at the races as a group outing—something to share on social media and remember with friends—rather than a heritage ritual.
- Technology as standard. Quick bets through apps, livestreaming, and even voice-activated betting are not optional extras. They are baseline expectations for Gen Z and millennials.
- Welfare and transparency. Younger generations are more likely to care about ethical considerations. Clear welfare reporting, openness about prize money, and community engagement all matter more than glossy advertising campaigns.
- Community as a gateway. Online fan groups, tip-sharing forums, and student race days show that building communities around racing can transform casual interest into loyalty.
Outlook: Horse Racing in 2026
Looking forward, the data points to 2026 as a turning point. If the sport leans into digital tools, embraces transparency, and treats race days as full experiences rather than single-sport events, it can sustain and even grow its younger base. Expect racecourses to lean more heavily into student marketing, hybrid festival models combining music and racing, and innovations like app-based micro-bets and interactive content.
Equally, welfare and ethics cannot be an afterthought. Gen Z will hold the sport accountable in ways older generations did not, and their long-term engagement depends on seeing tangible improvements. The next two years may determine whether horse racing remains a generational tradition or becomes a sport remembered mainly for its past.
