Inside Virgin Bet’s Goodwood Bank Holiday takeover

The rain may have made an appearance at Goodwood over the August Bank Holiday weekend, but it did little to dampen the spirits of racegoers heading for one of Sussex’s biggest racing fixtures.

For many, the Goodwood experience begins at Chichester station, with the shuttle journey to the racecourse forming the first leg of the day. Over the Bank Holiday weekend, Virgin Bet gave that journey a VIP twist with its ‘Each Way Express’.

The branded shuttle took selected racegoers from Chichester to Goodwood, hosted by Sky Sports presenter Hayley McQueen and complete with Virgin Bet goodie bags and a few surprises along the way.

The journey set the tone for what followed at Goodwood, where Virgin Bet had created a series of experiences for racegoers throughout the day. App users could make use of ‘Queue Jump’ for fast-track access to the Sussex Bar, while the Virgin Bet horsebox photo booth offered a chance to capture a souvenir from the weekend.

Through its partnership with WalkSafe, the UK’s leading personal safety app, Virgin Bet also helped put safer journeys at the heart of the experience. The partnership goes beyond traditional sponsorship, with WalkSafe providing features including safer route planning and real-time journey sharing to help racegoers feel more confident getting to and from events and, importantly, get home safely.

Virgin Bet is guided by its brand mission, “A Good Bet,” meaning every bet should be both exciting and rewarding no matter the outcome, while players stay in control and bet responsibly. Together, the activity brought Virgin Bet’s ‘A Good Bet’ brand mission to life across the Goodwood experience, from the journey into the course to the time spent enjoying the festival itself.