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17 Apr 2024
‘It has been an incredible journey. We’ve achieved a lot, but 2024 is going to be huge for us.’
Bobby Beevers, Autism in Racing Founder
The Racing Foundation (RF) is pleased to announce new funding for the Autism in Racing project to support the delivery of its 2024 autism-friendly race days.
The autism-friendly race days have designated quiet and safe spaces for autistic racegoers, or those who may have additional needs, alongside a dedicated sensory room.
Racing broadcaster and Founder/Chair of Autism in Racing, Bobby Beevers (BB) sat down with RF to share insight into the work and the future direction of the project, made possible by the recent funding.
RF: Bobby, please could you tell us how Autism in Racing came about?
BB: Autism in Racing came about during the first lockdown, in 2020, when my daughter Sophia was diagnosed with autism. My wife, Rachelle, said that she’d love to make everything more accessible for people with autism. When she said that, I had a bit of a lightbulb moment and I thought, ‘Oh, maybe racing could do something.’
If it was going to work or have any chance of getting off the ground, I needed to go to the top. So I went to the then BHA chair, Annamarie Phelps, and I said, ‘Look, I’ve got this idea’, and she thought it was excellent. She advised me of what she thought was the best thing to do at the time, and it all stemmed from there.
RF: Please, could you tell us about the funding support from the racing foundation?
BB: The Racing Foundation’s funding has enabled my dream of hosting more autism-friendly days in 2024 to life with Autism in Racing.
The Racing Foundation has also been incredibly supportive, not just towards Autism in Racing, but towards me as well. Tansy Challis has been brilliant, as has Stan Wong. It’s brilliant that the Foundation shares that passion and dream with me. there’s only one winner here, and that winner is autism, and the Racing Foundation has played a huge part in that.
RF: What does an autism-friendly race days look like? What can those attending expect?
BB: I’ve said from the start: the world’s your oyster; you can do what you like; you can stay in the sensory room all day; you can walk around the racecourse; you can do whatever you like; there’s no right or wrong. It’s your day; you’re here, more than likely for the first time, to enjoy a day out at the races in a safe and supportive environment.
The vast majority of families will walk around; they’ll go to the parade ring; they’ll watch a bit of racing; and you’ll see them walking around with ear defenders on. That’s the great thing about these race days; a lot of these families have never had the option to come racing before, and we are giving them that option to be able to come in and enjoy it.
RF: What has the impact been from the autism-friendly race days?
BB: I’m keen on creating happy memories for everybody because the memory will last a long time, and that’s every single race day for me. I want everybody there, whether it’s the children, parents, carers, grandma, granddad, whatever, I want them all to go away and say, ‘We’ve had an amazing day.’ So I think it’s fair to say that every single day is an achievement.
One of the dads recently said that when he was younger, he used to go racing with his dad, and he loved it. He used to say that when he was older and had kids, he’d want to take them racing. But his children are autistic, so he hadn’t been able to do so. But now he’s able to do what he did with his dad because Autism Racing is here, and they can have a family day out at the races. That really hits home because when you do stuff with your parents, you want to be able to do that with your children.
RF: What are the key takeaways for visitors to autism-friendly race days?
BB: The feedback we’ve had is phenomenal. The feedback forms are absolutely great, and it’s fantastic that we’re in a position to do this. As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing like this to the extent and depth of what we’re doing, in other sports. But it’s not just a case of the Autism Friendly Days. We’ve partnered with the National Autistic Society, among others, and we want to work on employment because under 29% of autistic individuals are in some kind of work. But the flip side is that over 60% want to work.
We are trying to help and support in the best way we can. So if somebody wants to work in racing, whether that be as a jockey, working in a stable, or working at a racecourse, it’s making sure that we can get them into the industry and at the same time offer the right support.
RF: What does 2024 look like for Autism in Racing?
BB: So far we’ve achieved a lot; 2024 is going to be huge for us, and I am very excited for the future because it’s going to be huge and it’s going to be great. We’ve got William Buick as our official ambassador and a record 24 racecourses signed up for the next 12 months, which is outstanding. There are lots of racecourses coming on board for the first time, as well as racecourses we’ve been to before, such as Pontefract, which is making every single fixture there autism-friendly this year. We’ve got the mobile sensory room on course, whether that’s a quiet midweek fixture, whether that’s the family day or a music night. It’s also brilliant that Autism in Racing has inspired Aintree to have permanent sensory rooms. We’ve loved working with the Jockey Club and Ascot, and it’s great that Autism in Racing has inspired these permanent sensory rooms across those racecourses, and we very much hope that other racecourses follow suit.
RF: What is your long-term goal for the future of Autism in Racing?
BB: Autism in Racing is on an incredible journey and it’s been great so far. We want to get more racecourses signed up to autism friendly race days. It’d be great if we could do an Autism Family Day at every single racecourse. We also want to get as many autistic individuals working in the sport as want to and keep raising that all-important awareness.
If we all work together, I think we can achieve a lot. I really, really do. We are taking giant strides and the journey is a wonderful one, so long may that continue. We are putting disability and autism first, and that is the key to all this, and we are very proud.
To find out more about Autism in Racing follow them on Twitter @autisminracing
