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Prosper Spring

Black Country Chamber membership magazine. Business news, advice, events, training.

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IN PROFILE: DAVE ROBERTS, MD, WOLVERHAMPTON RACECOURSE<br />

And I’m off – but I’ve had a<br />

brilliant time!<br />

David Roberts, Managing Director of Wolverhampton Racecourse<br />

and a longstanding supporter and champion of the Chamber, retires<br />

shortly after 23 years in the saddle – to excuse the pun. He spoke<br />

to <strong>Prosper</strong> about his time at the course and his plans for the future.<br />

There is an obvious problem with<br />

being the boss of a racecourse:<br />

everyone always asks you for<br />

tips. But...“they don’t ask twice,”<br />

says David Roberts, managing<br />

director of Wolverhampton<br />

Racecourse, laughing. “My friends know<br />

better, put it that way. I am not a good<br />

source of advice on the horses.”<br />

That may seem odd for a man whose<br />

working days are spent at the course but he<br />

sees the attraction of horse racing differently<br />

to those who love a flutter. “I love watching<br />

the horses. They are beautiful,<br />

thoroughbred animals, who love doing what<br />

they do. I like watching a race and seeing all<br />

the horses come home safely. That’s where I<br />

get my buzz from the track.<br />

“I rarely gamble. I went to Ascot last year<br />

and had one bet; I’ll have a bet on the<br />

Grand National like everyone else, perhaps<br />

one on the Gold Cup if I’m down at<br />

Cheltenham, but that will be it for me.”<br />

David will be saying goodbye to the<br />

racecourse soon though he won’t be<br />

severing his ties completely. “I am retiring,<br />

but I’ve accepted an ambassadorial role with<br />

ARC Racing and Leisure Group, which owns<br />

Wolverhampton and another 15 courses<br />

around the country. It’s the best of both<br />

worlds: I’ll still be able to catch up with the<br />

racing and enjoy the courses – but with none<br />

of the day-to-day responsibility. Perfect!”<br />

His time at Wolverhampton has been, in<br />

his words, “wonderful.” “I’ve had a great<br />

time, met so many wonderful people. I have<br />

been very lucky: I tell people I’ve never had<br />

a proper job; just something I’ve done<br />

‘‘<br />

I’ve had a great time; I’ve been very lucky. I tell<br />

people that I’ve never had a proper job...<br />

justsomething I’ve done gladly, but they’ve<br />

paid me for doing it.<br />

gladly, but they’ve paid me for doing it. It’s<br />

been brilliant.”<br />

His satisfaction with his career is possibly<br />

linked to the fact that it’s always been based<br />

in the leisure sector. Before moving to<br />

Wolverhampton and ARC in 1999 he spent<br />

23 years with Scottish & Newcastle, as a<br />

General Manager in its Pontins operation. “I<br />

managed a number of the biggest Pontins<br />

sites: Torquay, Brixham, Blackpool. I loved<br />

my time there. It’s great when your place of<br />

work is somewhere other people have fun.”<br />

Having said that, there has always been a<br />

very serious side to his role at<br />

Wolverhampton. “The very nature of<br />

what we do has meant we’ve had to<br />

instigate very strict health and safety<br />

conditions and conduct rigorous<br />

risk assessments. It shows just how<br />

far my role has evolved over the<br />

years.<br />

“Before I joined the role was<br />

more focused on the racing side:<br />

making sure the track and stables<br />

were in good condition, and the<br />

horses, jockeys and trainers were<br />

happy. Managing things like the<br />

catering was out-sourced.<br />

“Today being the MD is much<br />

more multi-faceted. We<br />

are a major<br />

conferencing, hotel<br />

and leisure facility,<br />

and my brief is to<br />

keep all that running<br />

smoothly.”<br />

The addition of<br />

the Holiday Inn<br />

‘‘<br />

hotel to the site has boosted the conference<br />

and events side, and the hotel remains a key<br />

part of the overall package. “The Holiday<br />

Inn is running at 85 per cent occupancy,<br />

which is great. Diversifying our offer has<br />

been crucial.”<br />

Other events away from the racing also<br />

boost the coffers. “As a lot of racecourses<br />

are doing, we are always looking at adding<br />

to the visitor experience. We’ve invested<br />

heavily in the hotel and the dining suites<br />

over the years, and added a little glitter to<br />

race meetings. We put on concerts, have<br />

family fun days with bouncy castles<br />

everywhere, and our firework night in<br />

November attracted over 17,000 people.”<br />

The ability to put on these events was<br />

massively curtailed by Covid-19, and for a<br />

long time the future of sporting and leisure<br />

venues looked uncertain. It’s perhaps<br />

surprising, therefore, that David<br />

was always confident<br />

Wolverhampton<br />

Racecourse would cope.<br />

“Our business model is,<br />

perhaps, different to<br />

how people<br />

imagine it.<br />

“We are part of<br />

the Arena Racing<br />

Company, and<br />

the pictures from<br />

our course are<br />

sold around<br />

22 PROSPER SPRING 2023

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