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A new communications campaign, HorsePWR, has been launched by British racing, designed to share and promote the facts around welfare in horseracing.

HorsePWR will have its own dedicated website to provide information about the sport and the thoroughbred, the lives they lead and the high welfare and safety standards within racing. The website also explores the areas that racing has committed to improve, from reducing risk on and off the racecourse to better supporting horses when they leave the sport.

The campaign has been led by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), Great British Racing (GBR) and racing's Horse Welfare Board (HWB), with additional funding provided by the Jockey Club.

Kinross-based National Hunt trainer Lucinda Russell said of HorsePWR, “This is just what racing needs. We must provide the facts, help educate and confront the tough questions head on. The facts matter. We understand our responsibility and respect our horses and we want to make sure the public know this too.

“It's good to see us taking a new approach, showing pride in the lives we give our horses and challenging and correcting inaccurate information which is put into the public domain by those who are opposed to the sport.”

Robin Mounsey, BHA head of communications and HWB member, added, “The HorsePWR campaign sees the sport take a new approach when it comes to talking about welfare. It is about being up-front, open and transparent. It is about tackling head-on the elements of the sport that we know are areas of concern and providing information to educate and reassure.

“Those who work in the sport are rightly proud of our record and standards when it comes to welfare. This campaign provides a platform to allow those connected with the sport to share their pride. It will be aimed at racing's current and potential fans, seeking to ensure that future generations of racing followers are not lost to the sport due to negative perceptions around the welfare issues which are tackled by this campaign.”

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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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