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BHA Race-Reduction Proposal Tabled Following Executive Committee Vote

The British Horseracing Authority's proposal to balance the racing programme and reduce it by 300 races for 2023 did not proceed out of review after the sport's Executive Committee voted on Wednesday evening. Racing Post first reported the news. The Executive Committee consists of BHA Chief Executive Julie Harrington, and high-ranking members of the Racecourse Association and the Thoroughbred Group. Harrington released a statement explaining the decision on Thursday morning. The statement read:

“The BHA retains the view that it is critical we take steps, as a sport, to deliver a racing product which is both competitive and compelling. The use of a data-driven race programme which is suitably tailored to the population of horses in training will be central to this.

“Following ongoing discussions with the sport's member bodies we believe the best way to achieve this will be through collaboration on a unified industry strategy, rather than making tactical tweaks to the race programme, which have the side-effect of causing significant division amongst the sport's various members.

“The sport's leaders have recent announced that work will now begin on a unified strategy, with fixtures and the race programme at its core.

“Meanwhile, the size of the 2023 race programme will remain under review, with the capacity for decisions to be made later in the year, based on ongoing industry discussions and our ongoing monitoring of the horse population.”

The National Trainers Federation released a statement in response to the news which read:

“We are extremely disappointed with the outcome of the Executive Committee vote on reducing race volume for 2023. From the outset we have supported a BHA proposal that sought to prioritise the future health of the sport over immediate financial gain.

“Further to this, we are left questioning a situation where, despite the Thoroughbred Group voting in favour of the BHA proposal, it was not possible to even reach the two to one majority needed to justify a discussion at the BHA Board. Clearly, this raises significant concerns for us.”

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UK Racing Industry’s Long-Term Stragety To Be Formalised

Leaders of the Racecourse Association (RCA), Thoroughbred Group (TG) and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will work together to set a mid-to-long term strategy, to help stakeholders align on a plan for the long-term sustainability of the industry. The strategy will look at areas including prize-money, the race programme–alongside the breeding industry and ensuring there are enough of the right horses to fulfil the race programme–equine and people welfare, the collection and use of data in the sport, the owner experience, integrity, customer engagement and the overall marketing of horseracing both domestically and internationally. Agreement on this principle has followed on from the sport's ongoing discussions regarding industry governance, which include that the BHA should have responsibility for coordinating the industry strategy on behalf of shareholders.

Joe Saumarez Smith, who started his position as Chair of the BHA on June, 1, said, “The ongoing discussions around industry governance have now paved the way for the development of a cross-industry strategic vision for the sport's growth, something that the industry is unanimous in agreeing is required.

“There is much good work being done by stakeholders but too often it is in isolation, and we all felt there is an opportunity for all participants to help shape that vision. The strategy will be framed around the industry's shared ambition to maintain and enhance Britain's position as a leading player in world racing.”

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‘Promote A Culture Of Respect’: British Racing Stakeholders Form Group To Develop New Code Of Conduct

The major stakeholder bodies of British horseracing have issued a joint statement regarding the conduct of those who work in the sport, and a commitment to take wide-ranging action to offer support and education to industry participants around behaviors. 

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), National Trainers Federation (NTF), Professional Jockeys Association (PJA), National Association of Racing Staff (NARS), Racehorse Owners Association (ROA), Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) and Racecourse Association (RCA) said:

“British racing is a diverse industry where individuals of varying identities and from a wide range of backgrounds work and compete side-by-side. It is a sport characterized by the shared values of camaraderie and conscientiousness, which come hand-in-hand with working in an elite sport and the risks associated with working alongside our equine athletes.

“It is essential that horseracing remains a progressive, modern industry when it comes to the conduct of our people. We must prioritize the wellbeing and development of our workforce, stand against discrimination of any kind in British racing, and invest in making racing a safe, fulfilling place to work.

“Great progress has already been made by the industry in terms of improving standards around training, education, employment practices, wellbeing, safeguarding and career development, with the entire sport involved in making racing a better place to work.

“However, there is always more that can and must be done. We must encourage a culture of openness and seek to support anyone who faces problems or has found themselves in difficulty. We must promote a culture of respect in how those involved in racing interact with one another and promote more diversity and inclusion at all levels of the industry.

“The signatories to this statement, therefore, today publicly commit to further improve standards, education and training around industry conduct, through the formation of a dedicated cross-industry working party.”

Next Steps

As part of this commitment, initial discussions around which commenced earlier this year, all the signatories have agreed to take part in a working party which will report into the industry People Board and will have the objectives of promoting the positive elements of conduct within the industry, educating our people, deterring poor behaviors and any form of discrimination while empowering our people to call out conduct which falls short of our joint expectations.

The group will be chaired by the BHA and include representatives from the BHA, NTF, NARS, PJA, RCA, ROA, TBA and/or – crucially – the people that they represent.

The working party will, as a priority, develop a specific action plan, which will be underpinned by research into the most effective examples of positive behavior change from other industries.

The formation of this working party and resultant action plan will form an important part of the previously announced project to introduce and embed a new industry Code of Conduct and underpinning regulations, which are being finalized with a view to being introduced in Spring 2022.

The Code of Conduct has been developed alongside all the signatories to this statement, who are also signatories of British racing's Diversity and Inclusion industry commitment.

The working party will have amongst its objectives ensuring that the new Code of Conduct is properly communicated, explained and understood and that it achieves its objectives of raising standards of behavior and conduct within the sport. The working party will also assist in the introduction of the sport's new Safeguarding policy and regulations, which are also close to being finalized.

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RCA Will Not Mandate Covid Passes

Covid passports will not be mandated at British courses by the Racecourse Association (RCA), which has no plans to implement a policy similar to Chelmsford's which requires covid passes. At Chelmsford City, attendees will be required to show a photo ID and a covid pass to attend meetings for the remainder of the year. Wales requires proof of vaccination status or a negative test if crowds exceed a certain level, and Scotland is set to introduce a similar rule.

A statement from the Racecourse Association was released on Monday and it read, “Further to recent speculation, the RCA can confirm that there are currently no plans to introduce mandatory Covid certification at British racecourses other than in devolved nations where venues are already required to facilitate the initiative when attendances reach a certain limit.

“We remain in close contact with the appropriate departments across national governments to ensure all British racecourses are at the forefront of relevant information should the situation change.

“In the interim, the RCA will continue to follow the advice given by national governments and provide guidance to our member racecourses, allowing them to safely welcome spectators and participants.”

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