Phil Bell is one of those lucky people who have managed to turn their favourite hobby into a fulfilling career.

He put ten years of news journalism behind him to become the man responsible for turning Brighton Racecourse ("where the surf meets the turf") into a successful business.

So successful, in fact, that he has also been chosen by Northern Racing to take responsibility for reviving the fortunes of Fontwell Park, near Arundel.

He is, by his own admission, "absolutely mad" about horse racing, although he says this was not always the case.

"My granddad was into the horses and I used to watch the ITV Seven with him as a kid but I wasn't that interested," he says.

"That didn't develop until much later."

Born into a family of Londoners, Phil is Sussex through and through. He was born in Cuckfield, went to school in Burgess Hill and studied at sixth-form college in Haywards Heath before deciding on a career in journalism.

While he was in the sixth form he worked part-time in a supermarket and one of his tasks was to take the manager's bets to the bookies.

Eventually, he made a few small bets of his own.

After studying journalism at Highbury College in Portsmouth he went to work on newspapers in Eastbourne and Haywards Heath, becoming a news editor by the time he was 23.

He then joined Southern Sound (now Southern FM) in Eastbourne in an office conveniently located above a betting shop.

By this time he had started going to the races occasionally and his interest soon developed.

He says: "Because I was doing the breakfast news I was finishing work at 1pm so had the time to really get into it.

"I read the Racing Post every day and got quite obsessive about it."

While his passion for racing increased, he was getting increasingly bored with journalism.

He says: "I had been doing it for ten years and the obvious next step was to move to London, which I just wasn't interested in. I really wanted to get involved in horse racing."

He started by doing some freelance work at racecourses.

He says: "I was in a good job, earning good money and I knew if I was going to change careers I was going to have to take a big pay cut.

"But the more I went racing, the more I used to think there should be more people there and I could do something to get punters through the gates.

"I started writing letters asking if I could come in and help on race days and ended up interviewing jockeys and trainers at Fontwell Park and Plumpton.

"Then I heard Sir Stan Clarke's Northern Racing was taking over Brighton and I thought 'Crikey, I've got a chance here'."

He used the opportunity to interview Northern's managing director, Rod Street. He remembers: "He was telling me how they were going to invest millions. I was really excited and wanted to be part of what was going to happen."

He spoke to Rod again the next day and promised to send him some information about Southern FM.

Phil says: "I really wanted to make an impression so I sent a letter that night and he received it the next morning.

"A couple of weeks later I saw the advert for the job of commercial manager advertised in The Argus and thought I may as well go for it.

"I had never sold anything in my life but thought I had nothing to lose and I got the job.

"Rod said one of the reasons he liked me was I sent him that letter so promptly. He thought that was very efficient."

There was a lot to do when he started work in May 1998.

He says: "There had been no money spent for 30 years and the place was in a real state.

"When I turned up there wasn't even an office for me. I walked around the old grandstand and found a room with a phone socket so I set up there.

"It was great. I loved it. I had no phone, no PC, the place was falling down and very few people were coming - it was just the sort of challenge I was looking for."

During the first three months, everything was given a lick of paint and the course spent about £1,000 on flowers (a tactic he is repeating at Fontwell Park).

Phil was very bullish in persuading people to come racing but, whatever he did, it worked.

When he took over, the average gate was 800 paying visitors.

Now it's 1,700 and the course hit a one-day peak of about 6,000 last year.

Only a small proportion of races used to be sponsored - now 95 per cent are - and non-race event revenue was less than £10,000. Now it's about £280,000.

On May 3 the course is looking forward to its first Saturday race in 30 years.

Phil says: "I've thrown my whole life at this and I have done for five years but I'd love to play a bigger role at the national level to demystify racing and make it even more popular."

I ask him what he does when he's not at work.

"Well, I've just been to Carlisle and Ayr to watch the races - I am a sad anorak but you can always get ideas by seeing how other courses do things. I just love racing.

"I like having a bet but also enjoy watching the spectacle.

"You can't beat watching a couple of horses in the final furlong, hearing the crowd noise and feeling the general excitement. What a fantastic experience."

I'm convinced. I might even have a bet.

Monday March 24 2003