Mick Quinn is relishing the prospect of guiding The North team once again as the Racing League returns at Yarmouth on Thursday.
The former footballer and trainer became involved in the competition in its second year and has been the team manager for the North every season since.
This year the initial team includes trainers Brian Ellison, Hugo Palmer, Jennie Candlish, Michael Dods, Mick Appleby and Richard Fahey, with the list of jockeys led by Jason Hart and Oisin Orr.
“I’m really looking forward to getting going again. I love the team element of it, that’s why I got involved,” he said.
“Obviously coming from a team background with the football and also being a trainer, it really struck a chord for me.
“I just love the competition, if you go to any of the six meetings and go down to the half-furlong marker to watch the race, you see every jockey pushing for extra points.
“They have the jockeys’ competition between them as well and there’s a lot of money involved.”
The Racing League’s format creates a more informal atmosphere than some meetings, and Quinn hopes that this can attract new supporters of the sport to the racecourse.
He said: “It’s a little bit more laid-back than a normal race meeting. You get a lot of families there, you’ve got cheap admission and they’re giving the baseball caps out.
“It’s a lot less formal than a normal race meeting and if you can get a lot of youngsters at these meetings – there are a lot of families at these tracks as well for the Racing League because of the school holidays – if they enjoy the experience, they’ll come back again.
“That’s what racing has got to try to attract, new fans, young fans, to come racing.”