British Horseracing Authority | Horse Racing Free Tips

UK Equine Anti-Doping Rules Altered

A number of changes have been made to the equine anti-doping rules in the UK, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Wednesday. These changes have been made following a comprehensive review of the sport’s anti-doping rules announced in 2018. Individual trainers and the National Trainers Federation were consulted, with additional input from both the UK and World Anti-Doping Agencies and sports bodies such as the FEI. Northridge LLP, a specialist sports law practice, also provided independent legal advice on the rule changes. In summary, the changes, which will go into effect on Sept. 1, are as follows:

If a horse tests positive for a prohibited substance, in order to avoid a penalty the responsible person must establish the precise source of the positive finding and that they had taken all reasonable precautions
Cautions are available for lower level breaches
Suspended sanctions are available for breaches

More information and the reasoning behind the changes is available here. The new rules and penalties can also be viewed by clicking forthcoming on the www.rules.britishhorseracing.com website.

Tim Naylor, Director of Integrity and Regulation at the BHA, said, “The culmination of this project has followed consultation with the appropriate parties as well as legal advice in relation to the rule changes, and it is our hope that we now have a set of equine anti-doping rules which are clear both for those who enforce them and those who are bound by them.

“We have to ensure that our rules in relation to anti-doping are sufficiently robust, but also that as much as is possible in such a technical area everyone bound by the rules understands what is required of them. Whilst in places the requirements upon the responsible person have been strengthened, there have also been changes to allow more appropriate penalties for lower and mid-level breaches of the rules.

“We have communicated these changes now ahead of their implementation date next month to allow sufficient time for participants to ask any questions they may have prior to the rules taking effect.”

In response to these new changes, the National Trainers Federation released the following statement, which read in part: “Trainers have strict liability for the presence of prohibited substances in a horse’s system. In the light of Disciplinary Panel decisions since the cases that led to the BHA’s review, the NTF believes the existing equine anti-doping rules provide sufficient encouragement for compliance. In that context, the outcome of the BHA’s review into penalties in these cases is a mixed bag for trainers.

“The NTF is pleased that the BHA took on board the need to remove penalties where malicious administration could be proved. However, strict liability reverses the principle of “innocent until proved guilty” by putting the onus on the defendant to prove innocence – in this case by having to prove the precise source of the prohibited substance….

“To mitigate the burden of strict liability, the BHA and NTF have agreed restructured penalties. It is right that the Disciplinary Panel should have the option of cautioning a trainer instead of imposing a financial penalty (as required by the current rules), for the least culpable breaches.

“We disagree with the BHA about the minimum sanction of a suspended disqualification in addition to a financial penalty for the lowest level breach for substances prohibited at all times. If the Panel is satisfied the trainer had no knowledge of the substance’s administration and had taken reasonable precautions, a suspended disqualification is an unwarranted stain on the trainer’s reputation.”

To read the full NTF statement, click here.

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Apprentice Jockey Tests Positive for Coronavirus in UK

An apprentice jockey in the UK has tested positive for the coronavirus, the British Horseracing Authority confirmed on Sunday. The rider in question has not participated in a race several weeks, but did recently attend a race meeting. The identity of the apprentice has not been released. British racing was halted in March until June 1 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Once racing started up again, all racing personnel have been operating under strict government guidelines and safety protocols to ensure that social distancing is followed and the chance of catching the virus is reduced. No crowds have been allowed to watch the races, with moderate amounts of owners finally allowed back recently.

“Having been notified that an apprentice jockey had tested positive for coronavirus, the BHA has worked with the health protection agency, PJA, the jockey and their yard to assist their employer in following government guidance and managing the jockey’s recent close contacts,” said a BHA spokesman. “A handful of people have been identified and asked to self-isolate for 14 days as a result. Further tests taken by close contacts have not returned any further positive results.

“The jockey in question has not taken a ride for a few weeks, though attended a recent race meeting as a member of stable staff, prior to showing any symptoms and before their positive test. It remains important that everyone involved in the sport follows government and racing guidelines and protocols around social distancing and environment hygiene at all times.”

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Havlin Wins Appeal

Rab Havlin has won his appeal against a 10-day ban for careless riding after an incident at Yarmouth on July 22.

Yarmouth stewards deemed that Havlin had failed to take sufficient action to prevent the John Gosden-trained Swift Verdict (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) from shifting left and causing a chain reaction that affected Dreaming Blue (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), ridden by Tom Marquand, and My Vision (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) under Harry Bentley. Swift Verdict, the €1.4-million first foal out of Classic winner Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}), eventually finished third with Dreaming Blue in sixth and My Vision ninth.

Havlin reflected, “On the day it was bad. No one is taking away the interference was significant. The two lads [Marquand and Bentley] were lucky to stand up.

“From my point of view there was little I could do. They said it was under a right-hand drive. It actually took two seconds for the whole thing to happen. We looked at it for three hours at the inquiry this morning and obviously I’m glad at the outcome. When you slowed it down, I literally had half a second to get him off, so who can do that in half a second? I know the stewards on the day have got a tough job because they haven’t got time to go over it like they could in London.

“I don’t normally appeal. I think it’s the second appeal in my career, but I just felt I thought people looked at the interference and saw two horses nearly coming down and thinking somebody must have done something bad for that to happen. But as even Tom said himself, the riding offence that caused it was minimal.”

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British Prizemoney To Rise In September

The British Horseracing Authority has published its fixture list from Sept. 1 through the remainder of the year, with minimum prizemoney levels set to rise.

From Sept. 1, minimum prizemoney at the middle and grassroots levels of British racing will be restored to their pre-COVID levels, while for Class 1 races and heritage handicaps minimum purses will be at 75% of their pre-COVID levels. In addition to levy funding, all racecourses will make executive contributions to prizemoney of every race. The appearance money scheme, which pays out to horses out of the money in middle and lower tier races, will be reintroduced.

A maximum of five fixtures will be staged each day from Sept. 1. Fixtures will generally consist of seven races with one race eligible to divide during daytime fixtures and two during evening fixtures. A programme of five floodlit fixtures has been added to the six days in November that was initially scheduled to be dark for the flat. The fixture list between Christmas and New Year, including the eight fixtures provisionally scheduled to take place on Boxing Day, will be reviewed nearer the time. All participants will continue to be restricted to attending one meeting per day.

“As we enter the autumn and racehorse owners begin to make their plans for 2021, this increase in minimum prizemoney levels across all levels from September is a critical part of the sport’s recovery plans,” said Richard Wayman, chief operating officer of the BHA. “Owners have displayed great patience in recent months and it is crucial that prizemoney grows at all levels as quickly as possible. Whilst there is a long way to go, the increase in minimum values together with the re-introduction of the appearance money scheme are clearly steps in the right direction.

“We have learnt a lot from a number of the fixture innovations that were put in place as part of the emergency fixture list, some of which will continue for the remainder of the year. Others may return in the future but it is evident that the return to a more familiar fixture list, at least for now, will provide a boost to industry revenues, particularly as we look forward to crowds returning to racecourses later in the year. This has only been possible due to the Levy Board significantly increasing its support of prizemoney compared with its original plans and we would like to express our gratitude for their approach as we seek to plot a long term course for our sport to recover from its current challenges.”

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