The Australian Turf Club (ATC) today launches theraces.com.au – an online destination for horse racing’s who, what and wear.

The platform will act as a national event calendar for racing that celebrates the lifestyle elements that make up a great day at the races including everything that happens on and off the track from fashion, beauty, food and major events. Edited by Andrea Hetherington, theraces.com.au will run as an independent publishing business.

theraces.com.au takes away any fear of the unknown allowing users to discover all that is needed to experience the ultimate day at the races at any of Australia’s top racecourses, including ‘how to’ hacks around racing’s traditions, picking a winner and profile pieces on the most colourful identities in racing.

Featuring racing and lifestyle content, invited contributions and consumer content generated by racegoers, racing’s heroes and social influencers, theraces.com.au will uncover great stories from the track, profile fashion from Australia’s most talented designers, offer beauty tips from celebrity and behind the scenes snippets of how these major events come to life.

With the power of the Australian Turf Club behind it, the site will be able to offer tickets and money can’t buy experiences mainly in Sydney but further afield over time. The Australian Turf Club will be offering race clubs across the country the opportunity to participate in the platform, tailor their content and engage with fans online seven days a week, particularly in the lead up to their race days.

theraces.com.au is an initiative of ATC chief operating officer, Tony Partridge who said the website has been in the pipeline since the Club started promoting #theraces on social media 18 months ago and is a game changer for the racing industry.

“Hundreds of thousands of Australians attend Australia’s major racing Carnivals each year generating significant local economic activity spending on retail fashion, jewellery and accessories, hire cars, hospitality, travel and accommodation. In Sydney alone, 130,000 Spring Carnival attendees generate $50 Million of local economic activity each year.

“Over time, theraces.com.au will engage with these customers knowing which events they intend to attend, surprising and rewarding them with offers that make preparing for their day much more exciting.

“But it’s more than a commercial opportunity. It’s about connecting currently anonymous customers to racing and most importantly, improving the event experience by giving our customers an online community. People’s reasons for going to Racing Carnivals have changed from the pre-digital and corporate bookmaking era. We can’t forget Racing’s traditional customers but for the future of the sport we must also empower young racegoers looking for a socially shareable experience with appropriate platforms to engage.

“Many Carnival racegoers only attend the races once or twice a year and they want to know what to wear, what’s on, how to buy a ticket and how to get there. These customers are not visiting a race club website or a site for horse form and fields. If you give these customers somewhere to find all the information they need and the opportunity to participate in an online community that celebrates the lifestyle elements of racing, you will create the relationship needed to invite them to the races more often and educate them about our wonderful sport away from wagering and race club brand messages.

“theraces.com.au will evolve over time. We know the name resonates because we have helped take #theraces to over 25,000 posts on Instagram alone and it continues to grow organically. Future stages will see a Chinese language version of the website and a more International perspective.”, said Partridge.