Cut-price Ascot look to win back regulars

ASCOT is to announce a reduction in admission prices on the first two days of the 2008 Royal meeting as part of a new public relations offensive designed to help win back the racegoers who turned their backs on the Berkshire track earlier this year.

While attendance figures were strong for the final three days, the first two days of action on Tuesday and Wednesday saw substantial drops as regular Royal Ascot patrons registered their disappointment in the new facilities.

In one year, the total attendance fell by 12 per cent.

The £220million grandstand, used for the first time at the 2006 meeting, attracted considerable criticism in its opening months not least for the fact that viewing the races from groundfloor-level was often impossible when the stand was full.

But more than £10m was spent on improvements earlier this year and further remedial work to other areas of the course is planned, including the construction of a new restaurant area in the basement of the grandstand that will be open to general admission customers.

It is those very racegoers, who make up about 50 per cent of the admissions at the Royal fixture, who are to be targeted by an offer that will see prices for the first two days reduced to £45 from £54 for those booking up to seven weeks before the meeting (larger groups are able to purchase tickets for £40). Otherwise, prices have been frozen at £54.

Ascot will also increase the total prizemoney on offer at the meeting, which runs from 17-21 June, to £4m with no race during the week now offering a prize pool of less than £60,000.

"We know that mistakes have been made in the past and that some people will always be ready to knock us, but we have done our apologising now," said course spokesman Nick Smith.

"After the 2006 Royal meeting we received about 1,500 complaints. This year that figure was down to about 200 so things really are getting better.

"We will be inviting those who didn't come last year. We want to bring them back and we're not ashamed to say that."