Agrovista & DLF Seeds Sponsor Racecourse Groundstaff Awards

    The 2023 26th annual Racecourse Groundstaff Awards is now open for submissions.

    New for 2023, the Richard Linley Award will reward the best newcomer to British horseracing. The Award is named in honour of Richard Linley, the former BHA Senior Inspector of Racecourses who recently retired after 35 years of service.

    The awards celebrate excellence in turf husbandry across British racecourses and are unique in that they remain the only dedicated awards for groundstaff within the sport.

    The core Racecourse Groundstaff Awards celebrate the winners and runners-up across the three racecourse types: flat, jump and dual purpose. The winners of each category will go onto the RCA’s Showcase Awards on Thursday 23rd November at Aintree Racecourse where an overall Groundstaff Champion will be crowned.

    The winners of the 2022 Racecourse Groundstaff Awards were announced last November with Agrovista Amenity, DLF Seeds and Duralock proud sponsors. As with previous Racecourse Groundstaff Awards, an expert judging panel comprised of the representatives from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) Racecourse Inspectorate, Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) and the National Trainers Federation (NTF) judged the awards, and the 2022 winners were as follows:

    Flat Racecourse of the Year

    • Winner - York
    • Runner Up – Salisbury

    Dual Purpose Racecourse of the Year

    • Winner – Ascot
    • Runner Up – Ayr

    Jump Racecourse of the Year

    • Winner – Cartmel
    • Runner Up - Warwick

    Special Merit Award

    • Winner - All racecourses for fortitude and resilience particularly in light of COVID, changing regulation and climate change.

    Neil Wyatt Lifetime Achievement

    • Winner - Brian Meikle, Kelso

    Most Improved Newcomer

    • Winner - Luke Randall, Warwick

    Groundstaff Champion

    • Winner – Cartmel

    Commenting on the awards, Holly Cook, Racecourse Services Manager, said: “The Racecourse Groundstaff Awards recognise and celebrate the hard work, dedication and commitment of the groundstaff teams across British Racecourses, and are highly coveted and strongly contested by racecourses. 2022 saw the return of the awards for their 25th renewal, following a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the entries from racecourses clearly demonstrated the ongoing commitment to providing the best possible racing surface.

    “The RCA is extremely grateful to our partners at Agrovista Amenity, DLF and Duralock for their support of the awards.”