Racing fans will get to see behind-the-scenes at the racecourse tonight (Thursday 5 August) on Channel 4’s Undercover Boss.
Chief operating officer of Jockey Club Racecourses Paul Fisher stars in this week’s episode of the prime-time show.
And the industry hopes that the programme, which currently pulls in approximately 3.6 million viewers a week, will provide good exposure for the sport.
Jockey Club Racecourses operate 14 racecourses in Britain including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs, Newmarket and ten other courses.
The episode will take the cameras “back to the floor” to see behind-the-scenes at the largest commercial group in British horseracing.
Mr Fisher is responsible for the performance of Jockey Club racecourses, which are scheduled to host a quarter of all racing in Britain this year, as well as non-race conferences and events.
As ‘Undercover Boss’, Mr Fisher spent three weeks disguised in a series of raceday roles at four of The Jockey Club’s racecourses.
He posed as Richard Setter, a new casual employee, who is trying out entry-level jobs in the world of horseracing to find out how his company works from the bottom up.
At Cheltenham he acted as an entry clerk, at Sandown Park he worked as a waiter and washed dishes, at Carlisle he joined the ground staff working on the course and at Huntingdon he supported a raceday runner.
“Undercover Boss is about the unsung heroes in our business. Ultimately, our success depends on the fantastic efforts of these people, as you will see in the programme,” said Mr Fisher.
“This was a great chance for me to understand the challenges our people face, while offering an insight into the day-to-day workings of The Jockey Club as a group.
“I’m pleased with how the programme turned out because we get to see some high intensity moments of our sport, but the focus is on those hardworking people behind-the-scenes.
“We have started a number of new initiatives on the back of what I experienced as an Undercover Boss and those have already made a considerable difference.”
Undercover Boss airs tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm.
