British Racecourses took 39% of the total vote to win Racecourse Guide Website of the Year 2026 at the Mad Hatter Awards. Co-Founder and CEO Mark Dooley accepted the honour at the Premier Suite, Doncaster Racecourse, on 24 April 2026. That share opened a clear margin over every other finalist in the category.
Mark Dooley accepted the Racecourse Guide Website of the Year 2026 as Co-Founder and CEO of British Racecourses. He stepped forward in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK, where the Mad Hatter Awards held its ceremony. His first thought went to the people behind the site: "This award belongs to the entire British Racecourses team." He also thanked the readers and voters who carried the platform to victory. The voters picked the winner, and the winner thanked the voters.
British Racecourses earned an unambiguous endorsement from the Mad Hatter Awards Panel. In its verdict, "The panel found its coverage of all 59 British venues to be the most dependable and current in the category." Panel members scored entrants on accuracy, depth, usability and freshness. Repeated, firsthand inspection behind each guide gave the winner the edge on all four. Expert opinion and public opinion landed in the same place.
British Racecourses won a vote that the Mad Hatter Awards cleaned before counting. Organisers removed duplicate and suspicious votes from the open community poll. They then weighted and audited that poll alongside structured research interviews with verified customers and the expert panel score. No finalist bought a place, since the awards accept no pay-to-play entries. A 39% share earned under those rules carries real weight.
British Racecourses gets its coverage from on-site audits rather than secondhand sources. Mark Dooley says he has personally visited every racecourse in the UK and Ireland. The platform holds verified profiles for all 59 British horse racing venues plus leading Irish courses. Each profile covers enclosure dress codes, travel routes, hospitality, ticketing and course layouts. Voters backed a guide that has walked the ground.
British Racecourses turned 39% of the total vote into a clear lead over the rest of the shortlist. Splitting a public vote among several finalists rarely produces a runaway result, so a share of that size points to broad, settled support. The figure also matched the other two judging streams, because customer interviews and the expert panel chose the same winner. Readers who use the guides to plan their racing chose them in public, and that choice decided the Racecourse Guide Website of the Year 2026. Thirty-nine per cent is a mandate, not a fluke.