Helena Flynn | Horse Racing Free Tips

Horse Welfare Board, Hartpury University Launch Census

British Racing's Horse Welfare Board is launching the first ever Thoroughbred census in Great Britain, in collaboration with Hartpury University.

All owners of former racehorses are being asked to submit a completed census through Dec. 31. The census will help build an improved Thoroughbred data bank about former racehorses and the lives they go on to lead.

Helena Flynn, Programme Director, Horse Welfare Board, said: “Improving the traceability of Thoroughbreds after they retire from racing is a fundamental part of the Horse Welfare Board's five-year welfare strategy. The launch of this census is a significant project to help increase the depth, quality, and volume of data about Thoroughbreds at this important stage of their lives.”

Improved data at this stage of a thoroughbred's life can also help the Horse Welfare Board and RoR improve and adapt welfare initiatives, enabling fast and effective contact in the event of an equine disease outbreak.

The census will request information on each horse's equine identification document (passport) number, microchip number, age, current residence, second career, and more to provide a robust view of the 2023 British retired racehorse population.

The six-month census has been launched in partnership with Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), British Racing's official aftercare charity, funded by the Racing Foundation, and is supported by World Horse Welfare and Weatherbys General Stud Book.

To complete the 2023 Thoroughbred Census online, click here before closing Dec. 31.

Full results will be reported during the first quarter of 2024.

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The Racing Foundation Grants £3M to Horse Welfare Board

The Racing Foundation has awarded the Horse Welfare Board a grant of £3million over three years to support its cross-industry work to improve equine welfare in British racing.

The grant will be used to deliver the horse welfare projects identified in the industry's “A life well-lived” strategy–a five-year plan to ensure the highest standards of welfare for all horses bred for British racing. Released in stages over the next three years, the funding will cover multiple projects to drive forward important developments in safety, data, and traceability along with supporting program and executive team costs.

Obstacle improvement and development and the advancement of the sport's Jump Racing Risk Model (JRRM) are two of the Horse Welfare Board's key safety projects for the first year of the grant. With support from external epidemiology experts, the JRRM will become a one-stop-shop for data on racehorse falls to identify trends and help drive forward the sport's risk management actions.

Helena Flynn, Horse Welfare Board Program Director said, “Since the formation of the team last year, detailed work has been carried out to scope, prioritize, and cost the core initiatives from the Life Well Lived Strategy. To date, we have delivered the implementation of the equine vision project, have redefined racing's responsibility to Thoroughbreds at their first step out of racing and have laid the groundwork for critical data projects. We now have 17 projects live and with the Racing Foundation's core funding secured we can progress at speed.”

For more information on the Horse Welfare Board and its initiatives, click here.

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Horse Welfare Board Appoints New Trio

Mike Etherington-Smith, Helena Flynn and Stephen Wensley were all appointed to the Horse Welfare Board, the HWB announced on Wednesday. The trio, whose roles will be funded by the Racing Foundation, will work across racing to coordinate the implementation of the Horse Welfare Strategy and will be accountable to Barry Johnson, the HWB's independent chair. Racing Foundation CEO Rob Hezel was directly involved in the recruitment process.

Etherington-Smith, who has designed multiple Olympic event courses, will be the Equine Safety Advisor. Helena Flynn has been named Programme Director and Stephen Wensley is the new Welfare Data Projects Lead. They will work closely with Claire Cuff who began in February as the Head of Welfare Communications, whose post is funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board.

Barry Johnson, the HWB's Independent Chair, said, “We are enormously excited and encouraged by the formation of this impressive team. Not only are their skills and experience truly world class, they have also demonstrated a strong ability to work collaboratively. This was essential, as we wanted a team who would support racing and its people to fulfil our collective ambitions in relation to horse welfare.

“Helena Flynn has worked at a high level in some major global businesses and this experience, combined with her deep passion for horses and racing, gives us great confidence that she will be a real asset to racing and will help to drive the Horse Welfare Programme forward over the coming months.

“Mike Etherington-Smith is a world leader in the field of equine risk management and will not only share his formidable experience and knowledge with racing, but also to learn from the equine understanding and expertise that exists across the sport. We are delighted to have someone of Mike's calibre working with us.

“Stephen Wensley impressed us with his deep understanding of data projects and his strong project management experience. We felt he could help us ensure that racing has a clear programme of effective welfare data projects, which can be used by the whole industry to build understanding and drive improvements.”

More information on the appointees and their role with the HWB can be found here.

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