Why not try the races for entertaining?

Oct 9 2003 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

My life is not just one long round of pleasure, but last weekend did see me indulging heavily in corporate entertainment.

On Friday night I took some guests to the Voices for Hospices concert at Newcastle City Hall, which featured a number of popular classics and a magnificent performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto by Julian Lloyd Webber.

The event raised £45,000 for the Jigsaw Appeal of St Oswald's Hospice in Gosforth and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

As a virtuoso of international renown performing a piece he has made his own, Lloyd Webber received an enthusiastic reception from an appreciative audience.

But - it being Newcastle - the most passionate greeting was reserved for Sir Bobby Robson, who came on to the stage to draw the winning raffle tickets.

And - although, to put it mildly, he must have had other things on his mind - after the concert, he went with many of the other guests to the Copthorne Hotel, where he chatted to people in his usual unaffected and affable style. Football may have its blemishes at the moment, but in Sir Bobby it is at least graced by one true gentleman.

Having done the cultural bit, Sunday saw me at Kelso races. I've never been much of a betting man, having probably been put off by my father who had the races on TV every Saturday afternoon when I would far rather have been watching Man from Uncle.

However, I have to confess that I do now enjoy an occasional day at the races. It's also an excellent vehicle for corporate entertainment. The races themselves not only lend a certain interest if not excitement, they also provide an easy subject of conversation when entertaining people who don't know each other.

The chances are that your guests will welcome an invitation. After all, some five-and-a-half million go racing every year and, after football, it's the most televised sport on terrestrial channels.

Unlike many other forms of corporate entertainment, it is also popular with the ladies, who make up 40pc of racegoers.

Nor do you need to be particularly expert to enjoy yourself. One couple in our party on Sunday were first-timers and confessed to never having had any interest in racing.

The husband asked, as we entered the course: "What exactly is the Tote?" During the afternoon, they pored over their race card, debating which horses had the nicest sounding names and - you guessed it - they cleaned up. Given the attractions of racing, I'm surprised it is not a more popular choice for entertaining clients and contacts.

It's not as though there isn't plenty of choice. We have three courses in the region, and Kelso on the doorstep. And if you want to go further afield, in the UK every year there are 1,158 meetings, with 7,691 races and 83,651 runners. So, if you're scratching your head as to what to do for your next spot of corporate entertaining, then my advice is - go to the races. And invite me.