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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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ARCI Urges On-Time Implementation Of Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority

The Board of Directors of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) has unanimously indicated that the delay in HISA implementation suggested last week by the Authority's Chair Charles Scheeler was “not necessary and legally problematic” as the US State racing commissions are all eager to negotiate and finalize agreements with both the Authority and it's Enforcement Agency (assumed to be the United States Anti-Doping Agency).

“The people and organizations that have worked hard to pass the federal legislation have been waiting for ten years for these reforms and we see no reason why HISA and the enforcement agency cannot assume control on July 1, 2022, as required by the law,” said RCI Chair Robert Lopez.

Since late August State racing commissions have participated in fifteen implementation work sessions with both HISA and USADA senior staff. Those meetings were coordinated by the ARCI and the last session occurred early November.

The only missing pieces are how the HISA Authority plans to pay for things and what the additional costs of the Authority and Enforcement Agency will be. Existing program costs are matters of public record in each state and have been provided by the state commissions months ago.

“This is not rocket science,” said RCI President Ed Martin. “The big cost of collecting and testing samples is known in each state. Investigator salaries are known. Prosecutor salaries are known as is the number of cases that come on appeal. What is not known are the HISA/USADA enhancements to the existing system and if nobody has their arms around what they will cost by now it makes one wonder if this entire thing is structured correctly.”

Lopez said the states are eager to work with both HISA and its Enforcement Agency, presumably USADA, to achieve a smooth transition.

“State specific agreements need to be negotiated now and the state racing commissions are ready to begin those talks with both HISA and the Enforcement Agency individually.”

“We have been told that the HISA goal is to preserve as much of the existing public investment as possible to mitigate new costs of expanded integrity on racetracks, owners, breeders, horsemen, veterinarians and fans,” Martin said. “Delaying full implementation agreements as has been suggested only gives external forces more time to shift state support for racing to other areas.”

The ARCI said it was “most likely” that it will avail itself of the opportunity to comment directly to the FTC during the public comment period.

Martin said the initial read of the proposed Racetrack Safety rules were positive compared to previous versions, but that a complete analysis is underway. He also said that the ARCI had a productive meeting in Tucson last week with Travis Tygart and senior leaders from the US Anti-Doping Agency as well as two HISA Board Members, D.G. Van Clief and Dr. Sue Stover the next day.

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Ascot To Offer Record Prize Money In 2022

Ascot Racecourse today announces record prize money of £15.64 million (about US$17.64 million) in 2022 with increases across the Flat and Jumps programs.

This represents an increase of nearly £2 million (US$2.26 million) on 2019 values (from £13.67m, US$15.42m), or 14.4 percent, being the last year when planned prize money was distributed before the pandemic impacted 2020. These figures exclude the industry partnership QIPCO British Champions Day.

Royal Ascot (June 14 – 18, 2022) will be worth £8,652,500 (US$9.76m), an increase of £1,322,500 (US$1.49m) (18 percent) on 2019 values which totaled £7,330,000 (US$8.27m).

Highlights include:

– The Royal Ascot Tuesday card, featuring three Group One races, becomes Royal Ascot's first £2 million (US$2.26m) day.

– The Prince of Wales's Stakes and the Platinum (formerly Diamond) Jubilee Stakes will become the first races at Royal Ascot to be run with a total prize fund of £1 million (US$1.13m).

– No race at Royal Ascot will be run for less than £100,000 (US$112,800).

Outside Royal Ascot:

– The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes returns to its pre-pandemic value of £1.25 million (US$1.41m).

– A record £550,000 (US$620,380) will be offered at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup. The program will increase to eight races (from six) with 12 runners in each race (from 10). Details of the team format will follow in 2022.

– All Flat races will be worth at least £15,000 (US$16,920) and all Jumps races will be worth at least £10,000 (US$11,280) (excluding three National Hunt Flat races and one Hunters' Chase at £5,000, US$5,640).

– There will be additional £25,000 (US$28,200) stable prizes offered on both QIPCO King George Diamond Day (July 23, 2022) and Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Day (Aug. 6, 2022). These will be awarded £20,000 (US$22,560) to the trainers and £5,000 (US$5,640) to stable staff across the top three performing yards based on points achieved for first to fifth placings.

– All plans remain subject to change depending on the COVID-19 landscape.

Guy Henderson, Chief Executive Officer at Ascot Racecourse, said:

“We are pleased to be able to announce a return to our pre-pandemic prize money plans as we re-build. Whilst these plans have been unavoidably delayed, today is about looking forward. It is vital we maintain the quality of the British Pattern and the top end program generally. For obvious reasons, a large proportion of the increases announced today are focused on our 35 races at the Royal Meeting.

“Prize money is racing's equivalent of remunerating the players on the pitch. We need to offer the best we can in order to attract the best and help maintain international investment in British racing. Our next ambition, as we build Ascot as a global brand wrapped around world class racing, is to be able to offer at least £1m for each of our nine Group One races in the coming years.

“Field sizes for races of both codes are under pressure. With this in mind, we have applied a number of targeted increases across our program and raised our minimum prize money levels for both codes. Specifically, we have made some changes to QIPCO King George Diamond Weekend and expanded the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup to eight races with fields of 12; the established races increase from £60,000 to £75,000 and we have added two new £50,000 races.

“Our aim is for the stable prizes to incentivize owners and trainers to target these two fixtures and build on the successful trial at this year's Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.

“I wish to conclude by thanking Ascot's staff, our customers and commercial partners for all their loyal support in 2021 which has so significantly contributed to the business being able to advance again in 2022.”

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Lighting Safety Concerns Again Delay Return Of Night Racing At Delta Downs

Renewed concerns over the safety of a new LED lighting system installed at Delta Downs prevented the Louisiana State Racing Commission from approving a return to night racing at the Vinton, La. racetrack, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The new system was necessitated by a hurricane wiping out the old lights in August of 2020. Delta first raced under the new lights at night on Oct. 15, when a horse fell at the top of the stretch in the third race and the rest of the card, as well as the Oct. 16 program, were cancelled. Delta has only raced afternoon cards since then, which management maintains is not ideal for handle.

Since then, new lights have been added to the system, and the original ones have been re-aimed to improve coverage. Training in the mornings has occurred under the updated system since Dec. 2, but jockeys like Ty Kennedy, Gerard Melancon, and Tim Thornton expressed that they still don't feel the lights are safe.

Delta's vice president and general manager Steve Kuypers countered by referencing a report written by lighting specialist John Stewart, brought in on Dec. 1, which states that “the only track in the nation with a better lighting system was Churchill Downs.”

“We can't agree on okaying this if the lighting system's not safe for these riders,” Commissioner Eddie Delahoussaye, a retired Hall-of-Fame jockey, told the other commissioners. “Somebody goes and gets killed–I don't want that on my head.”

The LSRC wound up voting unanimously to extend Delta's afternoon racing schedule for an additional 30 days, unless the two parties can agree on the safety of the lights and desire an expedited re-vote prior to that timeframe.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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