As we enjoy National Careers Week 2025, we dive into what its like working at a racecourse while balancing up going through a university degree. Dom is part of our Youth Collaboration Group and a huge racing fan he chats to us about his time working at York Racecourse.
Hello Dom, what role do you do in the racing industry?
I’m a Raceday Assistant at York Racecourse. The role is pretty varied but includes positions as Car Parking Stewards, Badge Checking, Racecard Selling, Ticket Scanning and General Stewarding.
What was your background into the horseracing industry?
I’ve always been a fan of horse racing and decided to get a temporary role to work alongside my degree at Uni.
How long have you been in the role?
I was in the role for 6 months.
What does a normal working day for you involve?
A normal working day would attending the course early to welcome spectators and once racing started my role was mainly to check badges and manage people crossing the course in between races. Within my role I may be moved to different areas of the racecourse doing different jobs depending on what is needed during the event.
And what’s it like on a raceday? What responsibilities do you have?
It’s very busy work as you’re dealing with lots of people you have to be good at customer service skills which is key. You’re responsible for making sure health and safety procedures are followed and the high standards of York Racecourse are met.
What was your favourite raceday you worked on?
As someone who is a fan of racing it was amazing to work the York Ebor Festival (this happens in August) I was able to watch some of the best horses in the world up close like City of Troy. As well as meeting fellow fans of the sport who attended from all over the world. The was a really buzz that day on course and I got the change to see some of my fellow Youth Collaboration Group members who were on course that day also.
Is there a challenging part of your job?
The main challenge of my job was dealing with unhappy customers or potentially some unsocial behaviour which sadly can occur at a racecourse, however this wasn’t a major issue.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone seeking to work at a racecourse?
Just do it! All you have to do is reach out racecourses are always looking for staff, especially on a raceday. If you enjoy the sport in my opinion you’ll enjoy working in the industry.
