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