Hamilton Park celebrate the end of their fantastic 2022 season in style after being nominated for two industry awards.

The premier Lanarkshire venue is a finalist in the Racing Connection category, and the Racing Post Readers’ Award. As former Showcase Champions, Hamilton Park are delighted to have suitably impressed the judges and scooped the two nominations.

The Racing Connection Award celebrates initiatives that enrich and extend the reach of the sport to specific customers groups. Hamilton Park was able to demonstrate this through their Commitment to Owners & Trainers initiative, which included record prize money of £1.6M, an additional fixture as part of the Sky Bet Sunday Series worth £200k, the upgrade of the Lanark Silver Bell to a £100k Heritage Handicap, as well as an enhanced raceday experience for visiting Owners and Trainers. The renewed commitment in 2022 delivered excellent results in a very challenging time for the industry and has created a platform for Hamilton Park’s continued success on and off the track.

The Racing Post Readers’ Award is a unique award amongst the Showcase collection and is the only award decided by racegoers, with each individual invited to nominate their favourite racecourse and rank out of 100 on customer service, value for money and overall raceday experience.

Hamilton Park is one of five finalists in each award category, and the team will be hoping to be crowned winners at the Showcase & Awards ceremony hosted by Pontefract Racecourse on November 10.

Ashley Moon, Racecourse Managing Director at Hamilton Park, said: “We are incredibly proud to have been nominated in not one but two categories at the annual Showcase & Awards. It’s a real testament to the hard-work, creativity and experience which went into the planning and execution of the 2022 season here at Hamilton Park. It has been a fantastic team effort over the last year and we have enjoyed some wonderful highlights, and to be recognised for all that has been achieved makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

Paul Swain, Communications and Raceday Experience Manager at the RCA, added, “I am thrilled for Hamilton Park for their success in being named as Finalists at the 2022 Showcase & Awards. After three long years, it is fitting the Showcase & Awards has returned with such a quality and diverse list of Finalists. They represent the best of British Racecourses and should all be immensely proud of the work they’ve done in the past year. We now turn to Pontefract on Thursday 10 November to find out winners and the new additions to the Showcase hall of fame.”

Lee Mottershead, Senior Writer at the Racing Post, commented: “Having served as a judge when the Showcase Awards were last staged, it was a privilege to once again be part of a process that underlines how so many racecourses are working incredibly hard to look after the sport’s customers. The Racing Post is always keen to celebrate outstanding achievement, whether that has come from our stars on the track or the tracks themselves. We are therefore thrilled to be part of this marvellous competition and I can say with complete sincerity that the standard of entries made judging a difficult delight. I congratulate all the finalists on their efforts to ensure our industry thrives.”

The annual Showcase Awards is the industry awards for British racecourses, celebrating excellence and innovation in racecourse operation and raceday experience. The highly coveted awards are held in partnership with Great British Racing, Racing Post, the Racing Foundation and Racing Together.