YouGov: What is the public’s perception of the UK's biggest horse races?

When it comes to horseracing, the UK public is spoiled for its choice of blue riband properties. But how are they perceived?

Only a quarter (24%) of the British public tell us they have placed a bet with bookmakers in the last year but awareness of the UK’s premium races remains high and steady – something which not every sports event can claim, particularly in the face of football’s onslaught.

While it’s no surprise to note the Grand National topping our charts for Awareness, it is interesting to see how others compare.

The Epsom Derby and the Cheltenham Gold Cup both lose out to Royal Ascot when it comes to awareness, suggesting that the Berkshire meet has more to offer in terms of engaging the general public.

What stands it apart? Certainly both its royal connections and its reputation as a focus for fashion provide it with breakthrough qualities that other races and meets don’t necessarily offer.

But awareness among the public is one thing. What do racing fans make of the Grand National?

We took a look at one of the other 16 metrics we track every day as part of our SportsIndex service – Impression. It records whether respondents have a positive impression of an event or competition (or not).

It won’t come as a surprise to many in the industry that for this particular segment, it’s the Gold Cup that wins out, beating the National and Ascot into a dead heat for second. It has to be said, however, that it’s a close-run thing for all of the top four properties, with less than seven points separating them.

In general, this snapshot represents a very healthy showing for horseracing. And while the Grand National may not be every connoisseurs’ choice, it’s a great entry point to the sport.

Our data shows that of the almost 70 sports properties we monitor each day, only one is better known among the public than the Aintree race – and that’s the grand old FA Cup. Not bad company to keep.