British Horseracing Authority | Horse Racing Free Tips

Extreme Heat Warning Forces Abandonment of Five Meetings

The heatwave forecast to hit parts of Britain on Monday and Tuesday has forced the abandonment of five race meetings across those two days.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) confirmed on Friday afternoon that Monday's fixtures at Beverley and Windsor, and Tuesday's meetings at Chelmsford City, Southwell and Wolverhampton would not take place in light of the unprecedented red warning for extreme heat issued by the Met Office. These five tracks all fall within or are close to the parts of southern, central and eastern England where the temperature could be as high as 40 degrees celsius.

“The BHA's number one priority in the staging of any meeting is the wellbeing of all involved, human and equine,” said the BHA's chief operating officer Richard Wayman. “Following the issuing of the first ever extreme heat warning by the Met Office, we are taking sensible precautions and have made a decision as soon as possible in order to provide certainly for those impacted.”

Arena Racing Company (ARC) owns three of the courses that will lose fixtures – Windsor, Wolverhampton and Southwell – and its managing director of the racing division, Mark Spincer, was supportive of the BHA's decision.

He said, “We have been in close dialogue with colleagues at the BHA throughout this period of warmer weather and have been operating with a number of resources in place to assist horses and people working on our racecourses. Whilst we had taken steps to mitigate against the higher temperatures initially forecast for Monday and Tuesday, including moving Southwell's race times to earlier in the day, the latest updates from the Met Office and the alerts issued this morning made it clear that it was within the best interests of all concerned to abandon these fixtures.

“We will be in touch with all customers who had bookings to these race meetings shortly, and our thanks goes to the BHA team for acting swiftly in changing circumstances.”

Chelmsford City's racing director Neil Graham took a similar view. “As ever, our primary concern is for the welfare of everyone visiting Chelmsford City Racecourse, both human and equine, and, therefore, we fully support the BHA in making this decision in such extreme conditions,” he said.

The abandoned meetings will not be rescheduled but the BHA has advised that it will potentially add races to the schedule in the coming days to compensate for those lost.

The heatwave across continental Europe has also meant a change to the start time for racing at Vichy, which holds its week-long festival starting from Monday. Tuesday's meeting has been moved from the afternoon to the evening and will get underway at 8.15pm. On Wednesday evening the course hosts the G3 Grand Prix de Vichy, which features the Saudi Cup winner Emblem Road (Quality Road) and is set to go off at 9.45pm local time.

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Disqualification Option Introduced in Whip Review

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has published its much discussed Whip Consultation Report, which, in a first for major racing jurisdictions, introduces the potential for a horse to be disqualified if a jockey has used the whip four or more times above the permitted level. The ProCush whip can be used seven times in a Flat race and eight times over jumps, and the current rules will be amended to restrict use for encouragement in the backhand position only.

Twenty recommendations were submitted by the Whip Consultation Steering Group to the board of the BHA and all were given approval. The key recommendations will lead to the development of a review panel responsible for evaluation of all rides and any necessary sanction or action, and increased penalties for offences. This will include the doubling of jockey suspensions in major races when the whip is used above the permitted level.

The steering group was comprised of a range of industry professionals, including jockeys, trainer, members of the media and representatives of government and horse welfare bodies. According to a press release by the BHA, the panel's recommendations are “designed to be considered as a package of measures based on the following core principles and objectives”.

These are listed as:

Developing rules which foster more considered and judicious use of the whip for encouragement.
Improving the style and perception of whip use.
Greater focus on education and improving standards.
Greater consistency in application of the rules.
Introducing a penalty framework which acts as an effective deterrent against misuse.

Further technical discussions will now take place with jockeys and industry participants to consider practical or logistical considerations relating to the new rules, which are likely to come into force in the autumn, though no specific date has yet been fixed.

The discussion period will finalise details such as the exact working of the review panel, and the training and education required for both jockeys and stewards ahead of the new rules coming into play. There will also be a 'bedding-in' period to allow for a transition once the new rules have been implemented.

David Jones, chair of the Whip Consultation Steering Group, said, “I would like to offer my thanks to everyone who took part in this process, from the members of the Steering Group who brought their considerable, wide-ranging expertise to the table in a manner of collaboration and positivity, through to everyone who took part in the consultation.

“It is our view that, as a result of this process, we are continuing to evolve standards of whip use, through a regulatory approach that will be demonstrably and visibly fair in terms of what they ask of our horses and the spirit of fair sporting competition.”

He continued, “It is inevitable that there will be those who think we have gone too far, and those who think we have not gone far enough. I ask only that the considerable expertise that has provided its input to this process, and the scale of the task in finding consensus across such a broad range of complex factors, be considered as part of any discussion about these proposals.”

PJ McDonald, one of two jockeys on the steering group along with Tom Scudamore, commented, “While as jockeys we would prefer not to have seen penalties for whip offences significantly increased, we also have to accept that steps needed to be taken to prevent breaches of the whip rules.

“I am pleased that the introduction of the review panel will increase consistency of officiating, and focus not only on penalties but also improving standards of riding. The introduction of disqualification for certain offences is a major step, but I think we all share the same hope and expectation which is that it is a rule that will rarely, if ever, need to be used as it will serve as a significant deterrent to jockeys using the whip too frequently.”

The review has also been welcomed by World Horse Welfare's chief executive Roly Owers, another member of the steering group, who said, “It would have been easy for racing to carry out this review in its own bubble, but by including an equine welfare organisation within the steering group itself they showed they were willing to consider other views and be asked some fundamental questions. While the group did not agree unanimously on all the decisions which were made, the whole process was a thorough one and racing should be commended for this approach.”

With a note of caution, he added, “Racing of horses, like all horse sport, can only continue to take place if the sport maintains the support of the public, which will require everyone in racing to justify their use of the whip in the context of horse welfare, and show that they can be trusted to adhere to and enforce these rules.”

The full report can be viewed here.

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Summary of Findings Published For Environmental Sustainability in UK Racing

The summary findings and recommendations from an independent assessment of environmental sustainability across British racing and breeding were published on Tuesday.

Commissioned by the Executive Committee of British racing and funded by the Racing Foundation to help support and inform, the report was commissioned to aid in the industry's long-term planning. Produced by White Griffin, it recommends that British racing takes a 'co-ordinated, industry-wide approach' to mitigating the risks and realising the opportunities related to climate change and sustainability. Several key points covered include carbon emissions, water availability, the impact of extreme weather, and waste disposal, to commercial partnerships, supply chain management and changing consumer expectations. It also highlights assets that can help accelerate sustainability efforts, including access to extensive green space and existing land management capability. Next steps are outlined as well, which are aligned to the specific environmental issues covered, together with more general overarching recommendations on how the industry should take a 'planned and strategic' approach to addressing racing's collective challenges.

Brant Dunshea, BHA Chief Regulatory Officer and Project Executive Sponsor, said, “Racing and breeding's close relationship with our environment makes us particularly susceptible to the effects of a changing climate. This research gives us a much better understanding of the key challenges we face, and provides a useful starting point for industry leaders to think about how environmental considerations are factored into British racing's strategic planning.

“I'm grateful to White Griffin for their work on this project, and to everyone–racecourses, owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys and so many others–who contributed to the research. The findings and recommendations give us a sound basis for determining our long-term priorities and securing a sustainable future for our horses, people and businesses.”

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Alison Enticknap Named BHA Director of Strategy and Change

Alison Enticknap was appointed the British Horseracing Authority's newly-created Director of Strategy and Change on Thursday. Enticknap will be the BHA's executive lead and help coordinate industry strategy with colleagues across the industry. Her appointment follows the news that the BHA, Racecourse Association (RCA) and Thoroughbred Group (TG) will work together on the development of a new industry strategy. The BHA is currently in the process of creating a new Strategy and Change Department as a result. That department will be responsible for programme management and planning, including oversight of cross-industry projects, and building capability and capacity in areas such as insights and analysis, and project delivery.

She joined the BHA as Head of Stakeholder and Internal Engagement in 2018. Since autumn of 2021, Enticknap was the Interim Director of Communcations and Corporate Affairs. Prior to starting with the BHA, Enticknap held a range of communications, public affairs and programme management roles, in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors.

Enticknap said, “I see this role as a huge opportunity for racing to work together to address our biggest challenges and to seize important opportunities. The prize is enormous if we can collaborate as an industry and get this right. I look forward to working across racing, with its wealth of knowledge and expertise, and helping to secure the outcome we all want–a thriving and sustainable sport.”

Added BHA Chair Joe Saumarez Smith, “The creation of the new Strategy and Change Department will be crucial for our sport's agreed plans to develop a new industry strategy. I am delighted that we have appointed Alison to lead this department. Her proven leadership ability and capacity to build relationships and drive change will be integral to the success of this work.”

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