Smaller race meetings like Ludlow and Hereford have never garnered the same headlines as the likes of Cheltenham or Aintree, but they still play a key role in the National Hunt calendar. Now, they’re starting to get the recognition they deserve, thanks to a few key factors.

Thanks to excellent regional trainers and an increase in content creators getting reports out there to horse racing fans on the internet, more people are showing an interest in these fixtures.

Regional trainers playing a key role

The big meetings across the country may attract the cream of the crop in racing and feature some of the best stables in the country, but there’s something about the local, homegrown feel of smaller meetings that is starting to earn greater appeal among today’s fans. One of the best things about these events is that there’s a lot of homegrown talent on display, with trainers from the Welsh Borders involved alongside those in neighbouring counties.

Trainers from the local area often send runners to their local tracks first, and these act as a proving ground for future talent. The likes of Henry Daly and Venetia Williams have been hugely successful at local tracks too, especially Ludlow. Indeed, the latter has a 30 per cent strike rate in the 2025-26 season at the track. The races can be a great experience for people who want to see horses in the early stages of their careers before potentially going on to great things.

Streaming has changed the viewing habits of racing fans

In the past, people who wanted to experience the magic of these smaller race meetings would have had to attend them in person. That would have required long-distance travel for many horse racing fans, making it hard to justify. Now, though, there are more ways to experience the action online. One of the biggest developments in recent years has been the rise of content creators who help to bring the events to a wider audience online.

There are a few big names in the horse racing content creation scene, with Horse Racing Away Days and The Racing Blogger both known for covering big and small meetings. These channels focus on atmosphere and behind-the-scenes action, with plenty of commentary on the races themselves as well.

Upgrades in technology have been helpful to the growth of these channels as well. Live streaming, for instance, has enabled them to get closer to their audiences than ever before. One of the first industries to widely introduce live streaming was the casino UK market, with live table games featuring real-world dealers, and has swiftly grown in popularity around the country. Now, streamers can use it at horse racing events to take viewers at home around and show them everything as if they were attending the events themselves.

This same drive for content fuels not just the racecourses, but the trainers too. Almost every major trainer is now sponsored by a bookmaker, and feeds unique content back to their site in the form of views, insight, video and the occasional tip. A negative repercussion of this has been the virtual disappearance of racing columns in regional and local media outlets, like newspapers, but in an online world, those people that wish to find the news can do so readily through multiple sources.

With smaller meetings finally getting the recognition they deserve online, it could be great for horse racing growth as a whole. Indeed, now more people are discovering places like Ludlow Racecourse online, it may well encourage an increase in footfall on race days in the future.

As we all know, nothing beats a day at the races.