Racecourse Groundstaff Award Winners Announced
Recognising the work of teams across Britain
The Racecourse Association (RCA) has announced the winners of its 2026 Racecourse Groundstaff Awards, recognising the work of groundstaff teams across British racecourses. Now in their 29th year, the awards recognise standards in ground management, turf husbandry and the wider work carried out by racecourse groundstaff.
Goodwood Racecourse was named the Flat winner, Stratford Racecourse took the Jump award, while Newcastle Racecourse was recognised in the Dual Purpose category.
York was runner-up in the Flat category, with Bangor on Dee finishing second among the Jump courses. Ayr and Ffos Las shared the Dual Purpose runner-up position.
This year’s judging considered areas including sustainable turf management, equine welfare, innovation, redevelopment and staff training, with the challenges presented by the summer’s dry weather also featuring in the assessment.
There were also three individual awards. Morgan Hughes of Ffos Las received the Richard Linley Award, recognising an individual relatively new to the industry, while Simon Davis of Southwell was presented with the Neil Wyatt Lifetime Achievement Award. Richard Langley of Brighton Racecourse received the Special Merit Award.
Goodwood, Stratford and Newcastle will now go forward for consideration for the overall 2026 Racecourse Groundstaff Champion title. The champion will be confirmed later in the year following a site visit by an independent agronomist.
