SEVEN Irish racecourses have launched a partnership with Rewards4Racing to offer a dedicated loyalty programme for Irish racegoers.

Well established in Britain, Rewards4Racing has over a million members and has proved to be a significant resource in helping racecourses there attract new racegoers as well as retaining and rewarding existing fans of the sport.

In 2019, before the pandemic hit, 960,000 tickets to the races were bought by its members, making up almost one fifth of all attendances at English racetracks.

Rewards4Racing Ireland members will be able to join the programme and collect points initially with Cork, Fairyhouse, Galway, Leopardstown, Navan, Punchestown and Tipperary when they buy general admission tickets or when they engage with the racecourses through their online and on-course promotions.

Several other Irish racecourses will be added in the coming months, with the ultimate ambition of having all Irish racecourses onboard with the Rewards4Racing programme.

Furthermore, like the UK version of the programme, members of Rewards4Racing Ireland will be able to boost their balances by collecting points every time they shop with thousands of brands or place a bet with Rewards4Racing’s exclusive betting partners.

Members can then spend those valuable points to save money on their next racecourse admission ticket or to win prizes.

In addition, Rewards4Racing’s 1.2 million British members will also be able to use their points to go racing in Ireland and attend major festivals here.

Paul Dermody, CEO of HRI Racecourses, said: “I have been impressed for some time with Rewards4Racing’s track record in assisting UK racecourses to drive higher attendances, better engagement and rewarding loyal racegoers.

“I am confident we can replicate this formula at Irish racecourses and further enhance the experience of racing in Ireland.

“I love the fact that members of the Rewards4Racing programme can generate points with any one of thousands of national and international brand purchases, yet they can only redeem those points against tickets for racing.

“That has to be attractive to our own racegoers in Ireland and indeed the 1.2 million Rewards4Racing members in the UK, many of whom travel regularly to our marquee Irish racing festivals already.”

Conor O’Neill from Punchestown said: “This initiative is an ideal fit and we really look forward to welcoming Rewards4Racing customers to Punchestown soon.”

Michael Moloney of Galway Racecourse added: “We are hugely passionate about growing our sport, the fan experience here in Galway, driving value for our customers and rewarding them, so this initiative aligns perfectly with our own ambitions.” In 2018, HRI announced a growth strategy for Irish racing and one of the elements of this was an industry-leading rewards and loyalty programme for Irish racegoers. I’m delighted that we were successful through the tender process to be the programme of choice and we can’t wait to get underway.”

Web: Rewards4Racing.ie