Tag Archive for: British Horseracing Authority

Lord Allen has far-reaching aims as he takes up BHA chair role

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Lord Allen has outlined his vision of turning British racing into “a modern commercial and cultural powerhouse” as he assumed his position as the new chair of the British Horseracing Authority.

Allen, who also offered his backing for the cancellation of next Wednesday’s racing in protest of proposed betting tax changes, believes that with the “right governance and ambition” the sport can realise its full potential.

In a statement, he said: “I am delighted the industry is coming together on September 10 to say ‘Axe the Racing Tax’. It is an historic step to cancel all racing on this date, but this will help us to explain just how concerned we are for the sport on many levels.

“Horseracing is a sport for everyone, not just for the few. There are 85,000 people dependent directly and indirectly on racing. The proposed changes would not only negatively impact many communities both rural and urban but would reduce our ability to be a world leader and the opportunity to have inward investment in the sector.

“Ensuring sustainable finances is essential if we are to support our participants, our workforce, our horses and our racecourses, and continue to engage our fans, owners, customers and the betting public.

“British racing is admired worldwide for its heritage, its quality, and the standards of integrity and welfare it upholds. My vision is not simply that we work to preserve this, but to develop British racing into a modern commercial and cultural powerhouse: a sport that commands attention on the global stage, attracts new audiences, inspires fans at home, supports its people, and continues to set the gold standard for the care of the horse.

“With the right governance and ambition, I believe this is possible and I look forward to working across the sector to achieve this vision.”

Allen was initially due to take up his role on June 1 but his tenure was delayed as he negotiated changes to make the BHA’s board independent of racecourses and the sport’s participants.

He added: “It is nine months since I was nominated for the role. In that time, I have had over 100 meetings with racing people. As well as industry leaders I met many frontliners for whom the sport is both a matter of professional pride and also a labour of love. I immersed myself in the industry so that I could truly understand the opportunity.

“There was a consistent agreement during my meetings that things needed to change if racing was to prosper, but often those I spoke to held the view that change needs to come from elsewhere in the sport rather than from their own segment of the industry.

“However, I hold the view that there are opportunities and requirements for change across the whole sport, and I believe that overall there is agreement and appetite for this.

“I am sincerely grateful to the Board of the BHA and its stakeholders that they agreed that change should start at the top and that we should have an independent board where everyone is focused on putting horseracing first rather than representing a vested interest.”

Racing calls one-day strike over proposed betting tax rise

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British racing will stage an unprecedented one-day strike on September 10 in protest at a proposed rise in taxes on horserace betting.

The four scheduled fixtures at Carlisle, Uttoxeter, Lingfield and Kempton will not take place after agreements between the owners of the courses and the British Horseracing Authority, making it the first time the sport has voluntarily refused to race in modern history.

The BHA set up the ‘Axe the Racing Tax’ campaign in response to proposals to replace the existing three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single tax, with fears the current 15 per cent duty on racing could be increased to the 21 per cent levied on games of chance.

Lingfield will not stage racing on September 10
Lingfield will not stage racing on September 10 (John Walton/PA)

Brant Dunshea, chief executive at the British Horseracing Authority, said: “We have decided to take the unprecedented decision to cancel our planned racing fixtures on September 10 to highlight to Government the serious consequences of the Treasury’s tax proposals which threaten the very future of our sport.

“British racing is already in a precarious financial position and research has shown that a tax rise on racing could be catastrophic for the sport and the thousands of jobs that rely on it in towns and communities across the country.

“This is the first time that British racing has chosen not to race due to Government proposals. We haven’t taken this decision lightly but in doing so we are urging the Government to rethink this tax proposal to protect the future of our sport which is a cherished part of Britain’s heritage and culture.

“Our message to Government is clear: axe the racing tax and back British racing.”

The four tracks involved are operated by the Jockey Club and the Arena Racing Company, with both backing the move.

Carlisle racecourse is also involved in the strike
Carlisle racecourse is also involved in the strike (Tim Goode/PA)

Jim Mullen, CEO at the Jockey Club, said: “We hope this pause for reflection will enable the Government to truly understand the economic impact of horseracing and its cultural significance to communities across the UK, as well as the world-class racing festivals we host.

“After this period of reflection, we hope the full implications will be understood, and we can prevent the irreparable damage that threatens a sport the nation is, and should be, proud of.”

Martin Cruddace, CEO at ARC, added: “We have always been taxed and regulated differently, and it is imperative for our future that we continue to be so.

“If the Government wants Britain to be a world leader in online casino and a world pauper in a sport at the heart of its culture, then tax harmonisation will achieve that aim.”

While the four meetings will be rescheduled, Paul Johnson, chief executive of the National Trainers Federation, underlined the “sacrifice” in calling a halt to the sport for a day.

He said: “Cancelling fixtures is a huge sacrifice by racing and should serve as a stark reminder to the Government of the impact its tax raid will have on our sport.

“Thousands of jobs are at stake alongside the loss of millions of pounds to the British economy.”

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We are consulting on bringing the treatment of online betting in line with other forms of online gambling to cut down bureaucracy – it is not about increasing or decreasing rates, and we welcome views from all stakeholders including businesses, trade bodies, the third sector and individuals.”

Lord Allen to start work at the BHA on September 1

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The British Horseracing Authority has announced Lord Allen will start work in his post as chair of racing’s regulators from September 1.

The Labour peer was due to take up the role on June 2, but his tenure was delayed as the BHA said he wished to “continue meeting stakeholders to better inform his vision for the sport”.

The BHA board currently has an independent chair, four independent directors and four member-nominated directors – two from the racecourses and two nominated by the sport’s participants – but Allen wants to change that arrangement.

Following a meeting in London, where the BHA board met to discuss Allen’s response to the submissions of stakeholders regarding proposed governance changes, it was agreed that work should now start towards the establishment of a single independent board of directors, which will oversee a single BHA executive led by a CEO.

Lord Allen said: “I am delighted we have agreed to a process towards a new independent BHA board, and I look forward to formally starting in September.

“Horse racing has a strong future. There is work to do, but I am in no doubt as to the passion and commitment of the many thousands of people who make up our industry.”

Licensing conditions for Oisin Murphy to include enhanced testing on and off the racecourse

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Oisin Murphy will be subject to enhanced testing both on and off the racecourse as part of “stringent” conditions placed on his licence by the British Horseracing Authority following his drink-driving conviction.

The four-times champion jockey was fined £70,000 and banned from driving for 20 months having pleaded guilty to one count of driving a motor vehicle while over the prescribed limit of alcohol at Reading Magistrates’ Court last week.

Following the conclusion of those court proceedings, the BHA says it has been “liaising extensively with Mr Murphy and his team” which has resulted in the immediate imposition of “an extremely strict set of conditions and monitoring requirements” on his riding licence which “must be adhered to at all times”.

A BHA statement said: “The revised conditions have been designed to balance the need to maintain the safety, integrity and good reputation of British racing, with ensuring that Mr Murphy has access to the appropriate support and advice so that he meets the sport’s expectations.

“BHA licensing matters and the precise details of any conditions that may be placed on an individual’s licence are a private and confidential matter between that person and the regulator.

“However, we can confirm that Mr Murphy will be subject to stringent conditions, including detailed and strict procedures relating to further enhanced testing, both on and off the racecourse.

“Mr Murphy must also engage regularly and proactively with the BHA. In addition he must alert us, within a clearly stipulated timeframe, to any change in his personal circumstances that could reasonably be said to be relevant to his position as a licensed jockey.”

The BHA added both the conditions and Murphy’s compliance will be subject to “careful monitoring and regular review”, also warning it reserves “the right to seek the immediate suspension or withdrawal of Mr Murphy’s licence” if those conditions are not met.

The statement added: “As emphasised in our statement of last week, Mr Murphy’s conduct has fallen well below the standards expected of licensed individuals. His actions – for which he has since apologised – jeopardised not only his safety, but that of his passenger and other members of the public.

“Mr Murphy, like all licensed personnel, is expected to uphold the good reputation of our sport on and off the racecourse. He has been reminded of his responsibility. The conditions now in place are designed to help ensure that he meets the high standards that British racing demands.”

Colin Keane ruled out of Goodwood by 14-day whip ban

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Colin Keane is set to miss the Qatar Goodwood Festival after being suspended for 14 days for using his whip over the permitted level at Sandown last week.

The Irishman has not long been retained by Juddmonte as their first choice jockey and was aboard their colt Windlord when he won the Gala Stakes at the Esher track on Friday.

Keane used his whip eight times in the closing stages of the contest, a count permissible in Ireland but not in England as the limit in Britain is six strikes in Flat contests.

The British Horseracing Authority’s whip review committee has fined him £350 and suspended him from July 22 to August 4, a spell that will see him miss Sussex Stakes ride aboard Field Of Gold – with whom he won both the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Speaking at Sandown on Saturday, the rider said: “I’m so used to eight (strikes) as it is at home, I just have to abide by the rules here.

“That’s the only way I can put it, I know six is the amount over here but when I was in a ding-dong battle, I suppose it just went out of my head unfortunately.

“It’s unfortunate but it’s my own fault.”

Parliamentary group ‘demand action’ over online tax threat to racing

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MP Nick Timothy has demanded action from the government to safeguard the future of British horse racing.

Timothy, whose constituency of West Suffolk includes Newmarket, is co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock, which will release a report on Monday that warns the industry could be deeply affected by proposals to raise online betting taxes, added to existing concerns around affordability checks and a failure to deliver a more sustainable central funding model.

Ahead of the budget, the Treasury is also seeking views on replacing the current three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single remote betting and gaming duty, which would tax bets on racing at the same rate as more profitable online casino and slot games and possibly lead to a reduction in bets on racing, which would affect the sport’s funding.

Timothy said: “Horse racing is one of the crown jewels of British sport and culture. Newmarket, in my constituency, is the centre of racing and breeding in Britain. Some of the most important racing operations in the world are based in Suffolk, and these businesses invest huge sums of money into the local economy.

“This is a story we could tell across the country, from rural villages to towns like Cheltenham and Doncaster, where horse racing is part of the social fabric and has been for centuries.

“The public recognise this. Nobody will forgive ministers if their decisions lead to the decline of the nation’s second-biggest spectator sport. The time for warm words has ended – we now demand action. The government must listen to the public and take immediate measures to secure the future of horse racing in Britain.”

Fellow co-chair Dan Carden counts Aintree in his Liverpool Walton constituency and he added: “The message from this report is clear: British racing needs this Labour Government to be on its side.

“Racing is part of our national story, and its enjoyment and support extends all the way from rural to urban working class communities.

“I’m calling on the government to listen and to act in order to secure a fair funding model, protect jobs and allow horse racing to thrive for future generations.”

Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, believes racing is a “cherished national institution, loved by people across every part of society, across every type of community, across every political party” and it should be “allowed it to survive and thrive instead of risking its future”.

He said: “The cultural, social and economic value of racing is huge for towns and rural areas across Britain. It is those communities that will suffer the job losses, the decline in community pride and the loss of identity that will come if racing is allowed to fail.

“British racing cannot – and must not – be allowed to fail. All of us who love and depend on this iconic sport call on the government to recognise the depth of the feeling and act now to back British racing.”