Young punters dominate The Everest jumps with 80 per cent of the crowd aged under 35

EIGHTY per cent of the record crowd that flooded into Royal Randwick on Saturday for The Everest was aged under 35, marking a new era for racing in Sydney.

EIGHTY per cent of the record crowd that flooded into Royal Randwick on Saturday for The Everest was aged under 35, marking a new era for racing in Sydney.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal these youthful punters turned out in greater numbers than at last year’s Everest — a race deliberately marketed to young racegoers.

As a proportion of the total crowd, the number of youngsters jumped 6 per cent. And it is not just young people from NSW who have had their interest piqued, as pre-sale data shows the demographics of interstate visitors paint a similar picture.

Young punters dominated the crowd at The Everest this year. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

The Bachelor’s Cass Wood with some girlfriends. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

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Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys said the event had already established itself as a “race for a new generation­”.

“What the young people like about this race is that it’s bold, brash and disruptive,” he said last night. “They don’t want tradition.”

The Everest launched as the new kid on the racing block last year, with punters predicting the world’s richest race on turf would eventually rival the Melbourne Cup.

Australian Turf Club (ATC) officials yesterday said there was no other race on the Randwick calendar that boasted this type of crowd.

Both ATC and Racing NSW officials consider the youth take up to be extraordinary. It was helped by a performance from pop star Liam Payne after the race.

The rise in the younger crowd heading to the richest turf race in the world may have been helped by Liam Payne. Picture: Hanna Lassen/Getty Images

Hundreds flocked to watch the former One Direction star perform after the bgi race. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

“It’s clear this generation wants a race they can call their own and we’re very fortunate they have chosen The Everest,” Mr V’landys said yesterday.

“In years to come this will be a case study in how to attract a younger audience to racing.

“I have never seen such a young crowd at the races. It was a new era. For a long time young people weren’t interested in the races but the clear message here is they want to come to The Everest and they want to come in big numbers.”

On Saturday, 15,000 bottles of champagne were sold, while 120,000 beers were supped, with bar takings figures being finalised yesterday.

The race was televised in 60 countries across the world.