A recently published progress report on its three-year business plan shone a light on that work, and Delmonte, along with HBLB's chief finance officer Craig Pemberton, gave Emma Berry an overview.

Emma Berry: Racing is facing some serious issues, including the government's proposed affordability checks on punters, which would have an impact on what you do. How are you feeling generally about the state of the racing nation at the moment?

Alan Delmonte: It's a mixed picture, as the recent update set out. And I think from a narrow levy, or financial perspective, we are not in bad shape. Although betting revenue turnover is falling, and the amount bet has fallen, which is a double concern, bookmakers' overall profits seem relatively stable, and that is how the levy is derived.

So that has given some foreseeability and continuity. It is well known that we started the Covid pandemic with quite significant reserves, which we used about half of, but have been able to keep them at around that level. So for us, at least at the moment, it has been a relatively stable background. But we have said to the board that we do need to be cautious, because it won't be sustainable if turnover continues to fall, that bookmakers can't keep making the same amount of money out of declining turnover. And that's why the outcome of the consideration of the risk-based checks process is obviously very important to the sport as a whole, and to us, in terms of long-term security.

EB: At the top end, and even now the middle to top end, things are improving in Britain regarding prize-money. Premier Racing is a new development this year, and there is some extra money at that level. From a more personal position, a particular race won two years ago by a horse in our stable was worth £4,500 to the winner but if he won it this year, it's £3,000 to the winner. That's a 33% drop. At that lower level the pinch is going to be felt, and I wonder about how that will affect ownership numbers and field sizes.

AD: That question of where to put prize-money is financially the biggest question that we have to face every year. On the assumption that we do this from one year to the next, ideally we'd like to have in a lot of these areas a multi-year strategy, not just the prize-money, but for an awful lot of things that we fund, where there is a very clear direction set with a lot of detail, and we set sail with racing on funding that for a longer period.

That doesn't generally exist, which is one of the frustrations and challenges that we have. So we will see how these fixture changes come along. They are part of a two-year trial, but we were explicit in wanting to have a one-year review point for the sort of thing that you're talking about. The board has agreed that we should run the trial, and racing's representative groups have said that it is more important, strategically, to invest more towards these top-end days.

They made the point that the prize-money for the lower-grade races on those days will go up. It's not all money that's going into the top races at the top fixtures. One of the points that we were very keen to make sure was monitored was the effect on core racing. Racing seems to be relatively confident that the effect on those day-to-day cards would be relatively limited. 

We will be doing reports for our board every quarter on what's really going on, with a view to recommending whether we can carry on with this funding structure for next year. But the overall principle has been racing's view, that your best route to growth of the sport is through maximising the profile of the bigger events.

It's an assertion rather than something that's based on hard facts and research, but we've gone with this with our eyes open, but with the need to really assess what's happening on the ground as we go along.

Without preempting the review, it would be an odd outcome if these changes ended up with fewer people wanting to put their money into being owners in the sport. There is nowhere in racing's plan that says the outcome that we are satisfied with is if the total number of people interested in participating in the sport goes down. So if we are seeing that – and one of the pieces won't just be the number of owners, it will be what type of owners, which type of horses are they owning – that will need some proper analysis.

EB: There is a feeling of anxiety among some breeders at the moment, and not just in this country. That could obviously have a knock-on effect on the horse population. What struck me in your report is that one of the first things you mention is improvement of the breed. Can you explain a little more about the HBLB's involvement in the breeding sector?

AD: We have three statutory objectives, which are set out in the business plan, and the requirement is for us to spend the money on one or more of them. The board has always taken a serious view of not just spending money on what might be termed day-to-day horseracing expenditure, but also the other two, improvement of the breed and advancement of veterinary science.

We have been the principal supporter of a series of TBA-driven schemes over the past 30 years or more, with the breeders' prize scheme, and over the last 10 years on Plus 10 and on MOPS, the Elite Mares Scheme that we continue to fund, and now GBB [Great British Bonus], which we provide three-quarters of the funding for. These things are all designed to provide incentive and upwardly-mobile ownership and rewards.

We try to get that mix of short-term funding for things like prize-money and regulation, and then the longer-term investment in other areas.

Craig Pemberton: One thing we've done fairly recently was a confidential survey. Around 200 stakeholders were invited to give an opinion on how well we were doing against our own purpose and vision, and it scored well. Relatively lower was the breeding area of what we do. So the board's actions, from having conducted that survey, are that we will make more prominent what we do around breeding.

We spend £2 million-plus on research in the veterinary science and education spheres each year. We will publish some of the research that comes out of that, and make links to those projects. Some of these things are very slow burns over multiple years.

We absolutely get that part of what makes British racing what it is. It's not the perception of quality, but the reality of quality.

EB: I suppose it's always a balance, deciding whether that £2 million should be going into prize-money when we all know what impact a sudden outbreak of a contagious disease can have. It could bring racing to a standstill…

AD: We were one of the main funders of the work that the Animal Health Trust did, and then worked very hard to try to see whether there was a route to survival for the AHT. But the view that the board came to in the end was that what the sport had to focus on was the preservation of the services that were being provided. 

We set up the process to ensure the continuity of AHT people that were related to racing. We oversaw the tender process that has seen Rossdale's and Cambridge University take on the functions that were previously carried out by AHT. And those organisations now work under contract, effectively, to the sport, but through us.

And I think that is a good example of where people probably just think things happen, but these extracurricular things do sometimes occur, and it did require quite a lot of extra time and resource to get that over the line. But that's not to say it was all us. Sometimes in these areas there are things that the Levy Board runs itself, and other times, it's a much more collaborative effort.

We work with the ROA and TBA as co-funders of these services, and through the BHA. So it does go on behind the scenes to some extent, but there is quite a lot of thinking that goes on about a disease prevention plan.

It was absolutely essential that the continuity of service was maintained. Obviously it was a great shame that the AHT, as an institution that was supported for 40 years, couldn't go on, but in the end, the bullet had to be bitten. And the priority became, 'Well, how is the sport going to get its disease surveillance and diagnostic service done elsewhere?'

And we've ended up with a more transparent process that has clearer reporting, clearer measurement about who's doing what, and our own committee that we chair, that monitors how those two institutions are doing against the contract.

EB: Are you still able to enjoy going racing? Or do you get ground down by all the politics of it all?

AD: I do, very much so. I don't even find that difficult to say. I think it's still the sport that gets my heart racing, just the way it always has. Work is work, and then the pleasure of seeing the horses actually racing is a different thing, and that's something that I think will always be absolutely at the core of my love of the sport. I'm just incredibly fortunate to be able to do something that's in the sport, but also to be involved in a job and an organisation that covers such a wide range of bases.

CP: I'm just in my fifth year [at the HBLB], and part of the motivation for joining was that I was really interested in the sector. Previously I'd worked at the construction industry training board, another levy organisation, getting apprentices into construction. It was principally about young people and life chances, and that struck me as having a very big parallel with racing. 

The CFO role is not just about the numbers, it's a lot more than that. If you can do the role and try and bring some balance and help, particularly for young people, that was part of the motivation for me, as well as finding out about a new sport and a new sector. And it's probably the most complex group ecosystem I've ever come across, but therein lies the challenge, of getting a lot of stakeholders to agree on what can get done, the AHT being a fantastic example. That was literally in my first few months here, and then we had Covid. So it was an interesting start.

EB: It's been a time of fighting plenty of fires, but the cyclical nature of racing and breeding means there's always something to look forward to, albeit in what is a tempestuous business at times.

AD: It's not a job where you can sit there, just making judgements and decisions, and then never having to see anyone again. It is by its nature an environment where you are, in a sense, always accountable for what you're doing, because you're seeing people quite a lot of the time all around the place. You've just got to accept that there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with the stakeholders. Yes, we want to try and be clear and open about how we're going to make decisions, or why we've said yes, or why we've said no. But part of that process is an ongoing dialogue. 

It's obviously a very fragmented structure, but that structure does manage to come together every day to produce racing at racecourses, and it produces a breeding operation, and all the other infrastructure. So it works. It may not be perfect, but I don't think it's realistic for anyone to keep blaming the structure for things not being done. You just have to work with what you've got, and try and find a way through.

EB: And while acknowledging those pressures, do you feel that it's still aspirational for people from various parts of the word to race and breed in Britain?

AD: It is for that reason, to go back to the Premier Racing point, that we absolutely get that part of what makes British racing what it is. It's not the perception of quality, but the reality of quality that is matched by the people perceiving it.

We want to be encouraging the sport where we can, to take Craig's point, to provide the most professional positive environment for people to come into the sport and work in. We're very supportive of the initiatives that racing has put in place around code of conduct, and all these other associated positive developments that should be necessary in a modern industry.

EB:  The Levy Board has been in existence since the 1960s, and at one stage it looked like it would be discontinued. What's the situation now?

AD: There are no plans to abolish the Levy Board. There have been a few attempts over the years. Probably the closest one to abolition was the most recent one, which would have culminated in 2019. The fundamental point there, which is my summary rather than anyone else's, is that if you are going to have a statutory levy, which we do based on an act of parliament, then parliament wants to see that there is a public body accountable for that levy.

And what would have happened under the proposed arrangement was that the responsibility for the levy would have passed over to a private sector racing body. And when push came to shove, parliament wasn't satisfied that that gave the necessary oversight. So maybe a way will be found, or somebody will have the desire to revisit it again and find a way through that. But at the moment, here we are five years on from non-abolition, we have got on with modernising what we do, getting our own systems and processes up to going concern standards, and we are not thinking at all about anything other than long-term continuity.

One thing I'd say about the business plan and the update is that a lot of the things in there have been generated by the Levy Board. They are designed by us, but what we would ideally like to see is the equivalent of those produced by racing so that racing has its own clear aims, objectives, targets, measurements for the sport, over a period of time. 

Ideally, our measures become racing's measures. Racing's strategy has been announced as something that will be produced, and the first fruit of that was the 2024 fixture programme. But there are all of these other major areas where we're expecting that there will be a very detailed underpinning strategy and ideally an overarching piece of work that says, 'This is what it all means for the sport.' 

It's not easy, but that's what BHA, on behalf of the sport, committed themselves to doing in 2022. And if we can get to a position where we're all working on the same major objectives, which are very transparent, it should help everybody be clear about where the direction of travel is.

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Over the 12-month period, the Board reports of a continuing decline in turnover (amount staked) which was being partially mitigated by improved margins and gross win (amount retained by bookmakers), the basis on which Levy is paid. The trends have continued into 2023/24.

“Whether or not these trends in turnover and gross win will be sustained will become clear with time,” said Chief Executive Alan Delmonte. “While the short-term position provides reassurance in terms of income projection, the Board must however remain cautious because the underlying position is that turnover has declined over a sustained period. Ultimately, whatever the cause, falling turnover is unlikely to prove a positive for the sport's long-term health.”

Also outlined in the reports:

• The achievement of a small operating surplus in the year, in part due to the Board receiving from the Racing Foundation the second £3m of the £6m over two years generously contributed towards the Board's grants for people training and education initiatives.
• The publication of the Board's first three-year Business Plan, during 2022/23.
• The updated and enhanced processes for inviting, assessing and monitoring grant applications.
• The decision to increase transparency with the publication of the Board's race by race prize money contribution, providing greater visibility for the sport's participants about where the Board's prize money funds are directed.
• Saving an ongoing £100,000 per annum on administrative costs with the move to smaller office premises.

To view the Annual Report, click here.

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Over 15,000 free places were made available across the seven days across the country for the public to come and experience a day in the life of a racehorse. From training facilities and studs, to aftercare and rehoming centres, 209 different events took place showcasing the care and attention racehorses receive every day. The week provided a platform to create a lasting impact on those who are not familiar with racing or who don't have the opportunity to get close to a horse in everyday life.

In research undertaken after the week had finished, 94% of people said the experience had left them with a better understanding about and a positive impression of welfare. And 92% of attendees who were new to racing said their opinion had been positively changed about the lives racehorses lead.

There were also a total of 60 dedicated community events focused on outreach, a 300% uplift from last year. These events were supported by Racing Together and Racing to School with more than 3,000 people from schools, charities, urban equestrian centres and community groups getting involved with behind-the-scenes access to racing facilities.

The events included:

• Paul Nicholls hosted a special visit for Dame Kelly Homes Trust beneficiaries, NHS and Emergency Service workers
• Ian Williams hosted members of the RMF Group, an organisation that offer industry focused training courses to ex-offenders, veterans, the homeless, and residents who are long-term unemployed
• Jo Foster took racehorse Sigurd to eight community events including schools, care homes and to charities like Mind and dementia groups
• Aftercare centres including New Beginnings, HEROS, BTRC, Greatwood and Yorkshire retraining and rehoming centre took their retired racehorse ambassadors out to schools and care homes
• Dan Skelton and Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero hosted children with serious illnesses from the Barrie Well's Trust Box4Kids initiative
• Godolphin, Ben Case and Dave Loughnane hosted urban equestrian centres including Summerfield Stables from Birmingham, Park Lane Stables from London, and Park Palace Ponies from Liverpool.

Rod Street, CEO Great British Racing, said, “National Racehorse Week creates a unique opportunity for the British Racing industry to unite and showcase to the public the high levels of care that our equine stars receive throughout their entire lives. It also allows racing to open its doors and welcome people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the joy of getting close to a racehorse.

“There are so many highlights from the week, but the ones that stand out for me include the significant increase in young people attending open days this year, especially those aged between 10-14 years, and the impact we had on visitors. Our research shows that 94% of people who came to an open day now have a positive impression of equine welfare, and 92% of those who were new to racing or not regular racegoers said their opinion had been positively changed by the experience. This shows the power of what racing can achieve when it comes together.

“We must thank everyone involved in this special week for showing off the very best of British racing and hopefully helping to inspire a new generation of racing fans.”

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Started three years previously, the scheme incentivises and rewards the breeding, buying and racing of British-bred fillies by awarding bonuses of up to £20,000 per race.

GBB Operations Executive, Charlie Newton said, “We are thrilled to have reached this record milestone. The scheme arrived at a time when it was desperately needed. Not only were we feeling the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit, but the breeding industry had been witnessing a sustained decline in numbers and profitability. In a little under three years, we have put £10 million back in the pockets of breeders, owners, trainers, jockeys, and stable staff.

“That's an amazing achievement in itself, but we've also seen an increase in the demand for and the value of British-bred fillies in the sales ring. Fillies and mares now have a lucrative career path, which will, in turn, see the strengthening of our broodmare bands.”

Bonuses have been paid out to 549 fillies and mares in 722 races to date, in both the Flat and National Hunt jurisdictions. Flat fillies and mares have earned 497 bonuses, worth over £7.1 million, while their jumping counterparts have been awarded 225 bonuses worth £2.9 million. Approximately 85% of the bonuses go to fillies by British-based stallions. This behaviour is encouraged by the scheme's two levels of eligibility: 100% GBB fillies are by stallions based in Britain at the time of covering and can win the larger bonuses of £20,000; 50% GBB fillies are by stallions based outside Britain and they can win bonuses of up to £10,000.

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association's Deputy Chairman, Philip Newton, said, “We couldn't be more pleased and proud at how GBB has been performing. We knew it could be a success, but the results have surpassed expectations. The industry has really taken a hold of it and made it their own.

“We recently commissioned PwC to carry out an Economic Impact Study to discover what impact GBB was having on the industry. Overall, in the three years since GBB launched, the price of British-bred fillies has increased by 16.6%–that breaks down as a 30.7% uplift in the foal price, 14.8% of the yearling price, and a 16.5% increase for National Hunt stores. These are welcome advances for a breeding industry that remains under extreme economic pressure.”

Created and operated by the TBA, the scheme receives around 30% of its income via registration fees, but the bulk of its financial support comes from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB).

Newton added, “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who has supported us in making this milestone possible. Not least, the HBLB, which generously funds GBB to the tune of £3.5 million a year.”

Alan Delmonte, of the HBLB, said, “Since GBB was launched in June 2020, HBLB is delighted to have provided it with funding of £7.6 million. It is particularly pleasing to see the 16% increase in the value of GBB-eligible fillies since the scheme started. Funding for GBB is among significant investments that HBLB has made in recent years to enhance British breeding and also to provide incentives for the racing of fillies and mares.”

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Building on reports published in 2014 and 2018, the study was commissioned by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) and conducted by PwC. Both the Racing Foundation and Horseracing Betting Levy Board (HBLB) funded the project.

British breeding was found to have an impact of over £375m of gross value added to the rural economy, as well as being a world-leading producer of top racehorses and the foundation for a world-class racing programme. There was also greater insight gained into the current climate in which Thoroughbred breeders operate through deeper analysis of factors affecting profitability and the overall health of the sector.

Over 7.5 million data points were analysed in the project following the impact of both Brexit and COVID-19. One of the highlights of the report was how the Great British Bonus scheme has narrowed the gap in average sales prices between colts and fillies at British sales. There are ongoing profitability issues, particularly in the middle and lower tiers of the market, where smaller operators continue to exit the industry. Forecasts on foal crops and broodmare numbers in the report also show a steady but continual reduction without intervention.

The report also outlined some recommendations for the industry to pursue, including the consideration of prize-money levels, new targeted industry incentives, creation of accessible ownership models, encouragement and support of the domestic stallion market, and the development of recruitment and retention strategies to meet the industry's talent requirements.

TBA Chairman Julian Richmond-Watson said, “It is timely as it coincides with the racing industry's development of a new long-term strategy, led by the BHA, which is an opportunity to shape racing's future and strengthen our position as a world-leader in thoroughbred racing and breeding.

“The report will be a key evidence bank for this vital work, as industry stakeholders seek to work together to address the challenges for the long-term health of the sport. A high quality and sustainable supply of thoroughbred horses is a specific objective underpinning the whole strategy, and is a requisite for an attractive, competitive and quality racing product.”

TBA Chief Executive Claire Sheppard added, “It is of fundamental importance that as the TBA, and as an industry, we take action based on a sound and robust evidence base and have a real depth of understanding of underlying trends across the whole industry.

“As this is the third study the TBA has commissioned, a comprehensive and longer-term picture of the key trends now exists, and the data have helped PwC to model into the future and map out what could happen if these trends continue and we do not take interventions.

“The long-term declining trend in the key indicators are an ongoing concern, but there are signs of hope for the future in the upturn in the 2022 British-born foal crop numbers and the positive impact of the Great British Bonus on sales prices and owner returns.

“The report demonstrates that incentives and strategic interventions can work. We must learn from this and take forward a plan with the support of breeders in particular and the racing industry in general as part of racing's new strategy.”

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Claire Sheppard, TBA Chief Executive, said, “We are incredibly grateful to the Levy Board and the Racing Foundation for their support of this vitally important piece of work. The previous studies enabled us to firstly assess the environment in which thoroughbred breeders were operating in, but also provide evidence to build our long-term strategies. Both the emerging and more established trends in these reports demonstrated areas of the sector at risk, which were subsequently addressed by the introduction of initiatives to influence market behaviour and assist the industry.

“This third study will give us an up-to-date overview of the market and allow us to monitor the influence of industry incentives such as the Great British Bonus Scheme.  It will also examine the supply of thoroughbreds to British racing and the effects of global trade and competition on the sport. Crucially, the results of this project will show us if our areas of focus remain key priorities for the future or if there is evidence that we should re-align parts of our strategy to new, emerging threats and opportunities.”

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Acting on the recommendations of an industry-wide committee set up to assess options for the future, HBLB has concluded an agreement from August 2021 with Rossdales Ltd to provide the diagnostic microbiology testing capacity, arrangements that will work in conjunction with the epidemiological surveillance and monitoring unit that will now be based at the University of Cambridge Veterinary School.

Since the closure of the AHT, the surveillance services have been provided by the former AHT team headed by Dr. Richard Newton on a temporary basis under contract to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). This team will be employed by Cambridge University under the new agreement and will continue to respond to disease outbreak incidents and to produce daily updates on infectious disease reports worldwide for the benefit of the health of all horses, Thoroughbred and non-Thoroughbred.

Over the past year, diagnostics have been available to Dr. Newton's team on an ad hoc basis from Rossdales Ltd, and funded by HBLB. Full coverage has therefore been maintained, meaning that the team was able to respond promptly and effectively to any incidents of disease.

The new arrangements will span an interim period of at least two years while options for the longer term are considered and developed.

Funding will be provided, as previously, by HBLB, racehorse owners and the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA). Discussions are also being held with the sport and leisure horse interests regarding potential contributions in the future.

In addition, HBLB has formed a representative oversight committee, with HBLB Government Appointed Member Anne Lambert as its chair. The membership will include representatives from HBLB's Veterinary Advisory Committee, the TBA, the Racehorse Owners Association, the BHA and the non-Thoroughbred sport and leisure sectors. This committee will have responsibility for monitoring the service in its initial phase and for designing plans for future, with the paramount objective of safeguarding the national herd. Full engagement between the Thoroughbred and non-Thoroughbred sectors in respect of infectious disease management will underpin the work which includes the development of an epidemic risk management plan.

Alan Delmonte, Chief Executive of HBLB, said: “This is an important milestone in putting in place successor arrangements to the services that had been carried out by the Animal Health Trust for a long time. A full evaluation of the current situation and the equine sector's requirements took place including through a tender process that was announced by BHA in 2020. Substantial work has been done by Stephen Atkin, who was retained to act as project manager of this complex area that has taken many months to consider. As well as now engaging the widely recognized expertise of Rossdales, it will be welcomed that it has been possible to retain the previous AHT team headed by Dr. Richard Newton. All in the equine sector are grateful to them for continuing to provide disease monitoring coverage and reaction to outbreaks given the challenging circumstances of the past year.”

Dr. Alastair Foote, director of Rossdales Laboratories, added: “We are delighted to have been awarded the tender, and to be able to provide continuity of the former AHT services that were critical to the equine industry, maintaining essential diagnostic testing and surveillance work. Our recent major investment in new laboratory facilities at our Newmarket site has meant we have been able to rapidly accommodate the required testing requirements, with new tissue culture and virus isolation facilities, and we look forward to working alongside the surveillance and research team at Cambridge.”

Read more here.

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A total of £55.8 million of the £67.2 million prize money allocation is via a newly developed ratecard mechanism, £6.9 million for the Appearance Money Scheme, £3.5 million for the Great British Bonus, a Divided Races Fund of £800,000 and an additional fund of £200,000 to support prize money at racecourses most affected by the new ratecard mechanism. For more information, please visit the HBLB website here.

Paul Darling, Chairman of HBLB, said, “The Board recognised the importance of maintaining its higher than usual allocations to prize money in 2022 to support the ongoing recovery of the sport from the effects of the Covid period. This adds to the substantial extra grants that we have made in 2020 and 2021. In addition, by the end of 2021 the Board's contribution to Covid-related regulatory costs is likely to have reached £3.7m.

“We are pleased to have modernised and developed our funding arrangements with regard to both prize money and the fixture incentive fund. Moving to a race-by-race basis for allocating all prize money gives the Board, and indeed all of racing and betting, more transparency as to where Levy funding is being allocated. The additional payments that incentivise racecourse executive contribution are intended to encourage a return of total prize money in 2022 towards pre-Covid levels.

“It must be recognised throughout the sport that although drawing again on our reserves makes it possible to continue with higher funding in 2022, the position in 2023 will be different. The Board is required to make the first repayment to Government of the Sport Winter Survival Package loan that was taken this year. That will be the first call on expenditure in 2023 and in the seven subsequent years.”

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HBLB Chairman Paul Darling commented, “There was no British racing for the first two months of the Levy year and it was far from certain when racing resumed in June 2020 as to what the level of betting activity would be in the months that followed. We have also seen Licensed Betting Offices either closed completely for parts of the year or open with restrictions.

“Since June, we have attempted to balance on the one hand our desire to commit substantial extra support for the sport from our reserves with, on the other hand, the uncertainty around our own ongoing future income.

“We spent £96m in the past Levy year, providing around 50% more to prize money than normal in recent months, as well as £3m towards costs of new regulatory measures to ensure that the sport can take place in accordance with COVID-19 protocols. It is to the credit of all those involved that fixtures have taken place without interruption since June.

“On the basis of £80m income, our reserves at the end of the 2020/21 Levy year stood at just over £40m. This will give us the flexibility to consider further significant investment in the months ahead, as the Board has had in mind the importance of having sufficient resources for the recovery phase from Covid-19.”

The British Horseracing Authority welcomed the news, and BHA Executive Director Will Lambe said in a statement, “Today's news shows how racing continues to provide great excitement and entertainment to the public and is a fun and responsible way to enjoy betting.

“It's a credit to the commitment and passion of all our participants and to the great stories that racing generates through our jockeys, trainers, owners and the staff who look after our horses.

“We thank all the media who have brought these stories to the British public over the last 12 months, including our racing channels and ITV sport.

“We thank the Horserace Betting Levy Board for the work it has done over the past year to support racing through this crisis, increasing its expenditure so that prize money levels could be maintained wherever possible, and providing additional funding to racecourses.

“We also thank our colleagues in the betting industry who do so much to promote racing to their customers. These results demonstrate the potential for growing the public's engagement in racing, the benefits this can bring to the tens of thousands of people employed in both our industries and to the country as whole, especially in rural economies.

“As British racing battles to recover from the financial impact of COVID, this is an encouraging moment as we strive to achieve better funding for our world-class industry, including a fair and sustainable Levy.”

Currently the British Horseracing Authority and its industry partners are developing proposals to put to the HBLB for using the £21 million of loan funding from the UK Government. An agreement on prize money from June 1 and after is now expected to be hammered out by the end of May. In addition, industry executives will be examining the detailed figures for betting on racing over the past year as part of the work towards longer-term reform of the Levy and addressing the challenges faced by British racing, particularly with regard to its international competitiveness.

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“This scheme has been in place for almost 10 years, paid for by commercial sponsorship and contributions from jockeys,” said HBLB Chairman Paul Darling. “It provided a critical safety net for  jockeys, for whom the risk of serious injury is part of everyday normality. I and others at the Levy Board were deeply concerned when the scheme had to lapse at the end of November after the PJA had been unable to find a new sponsor in the current economic climate or other funding from within Racing. The HBLB has stepped in to ensure that the scheme is immediately reinstated.

“I stress that this is a one-off contribution. We will now keep a close liaison with the PJA as it looks to find a new sponsor. It is essential that fresh funding is found to continue this scheme and I am sure that Racing organisations will play an active part in ensuring that the scheme is continued.”

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