Horse racing: Goodwood's Profit Driver

Horse racing: Goodwood's Profit Driver

Horse racing: Goodwood's Profit Driver

Lord March's parents got the house up and running they had a staff of 80 to host parties and they began to invest in the racecourse, deemed to be the "least risky" of Goodwood's assets, building grandstands and boxes to cater to the corporate hospitality market. There has been horseracing at Goodwood since 1802 and the "Glorious Goodwood" event in late July is a firm fixture of the English summer social calendar. The investment paid off, and the racecourse turned a healthy profit.

In the 1994, while he was still in his 30s, Lord March moved into Goodwood House and took over the running of the estate having previously worked as a photographer. He has to juggle the need to make money with his ambition to maintain the estate in its entirety so that future generations of his family can live there. He also has to try and balance his desire to preserve a traditional English atmosphere with his need to modernize the business.

Glorious Goodwood Horseracing Hospitality

"Although the family and the history of the place is very important, it has to feel and look modern and exciting," he says. "But I don't want Goodwood to feel in any way commercial. I want visitors to feel like it's someone's home."

Lord March often visited his grand parents on the estate during his childhood before he lived in Goodwood House himself. His love of cars stems from his grandfather, a keen racing driver who apprenticed on the shop floor at Bentley and was the inspiration for the first Festival of Speed held on the estate in 1993.

There had been racing at Goodwood's motor circuit, adapted from a runway constructed for aircraft in World War II, since 1948. But it closed in 1966 because investment was needed to safely accommodate faster cars. Lord March was set on reviving the circuit, but because of difficulties in gaining planning permission he was forced to rethink.

His solution was the Festival of Speed, designed on the back of a packet of cigarettes, which took place on the grounds by Goodwood House rather than on the racetrack. Lord March tapped into his network of classic car-loving friends to stage a racing event with next to no capital outlay. He expected around 2,000 people to show up to watch but on the day 20,000 attended. Goodwood had a hit on its hands, and Lord March realized the estate had the potential to host themed events based on its sporting heritage.

Lord March says: "That was the breakthrough moment, and we have built on that goodwill and enthusiasm." By 1997, visitor numbers had reached 150,000. After finally getting permission to restore the motor circuit in 1998, Lord March launched Goodwood Revival, an event featuring cars from the circuit's heyday between 1948 and 1966 with all visitors dressed in period costume.

Glorious Goodwood Horseracing Hospitality

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