British Horseracing Authority

The Youth Collaboration Group, for young people with an interest in horseracing and marketing, was launched by the British Horseracing Authority on Thursday. Headed by Careers In Racing, the careers marketing arm of the BHA, the Youth Collaboration Group will give young people the chance to contribute their views and ideas about marketing initiatives and content used to promote careers within the industry. The group is open to anyone between 14 and 21 years of age with a keen interest in marketing, graphic design, social media, video content, events and...

England is on course to remove the COVID-19 enforced limit of attendees at sporting events from July 19, according to an announcement from the UK Government. A final decision on easing restrictions, which currently limits attendance to just 4,000 spectators at each race meeting, will be made on July 12. During Royal Ascot, up to 12,000 were allowed to attend through a Government pilot scheme. In addition to ending spectator limits, the one-metre social distancing rule will end, as will the compulsory wearing of masks. "If we do find another...

Bath and Kempton have both had their Wednesday evening cards moved to earlier in the day to avoid a timing clash with England's Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Sunday. Bath was due to end at 8:35 p.m. and Kempton's final race was slated for 8:50 p.m. The semi-final match begins at 8 p.m. "Having received applications from both The Jockey Club and Arena Racing Company, the BHA has approved the alternation of race times at both Kempton Park and Bath on Wednesday evening to...

The British Horseracing Authority on Thursday opened a 10-week open, public consultation on British racing's whip rules and penalities. The consultation, a recommendation of the industry's independently chaired Horse Welfare Board, aims to gather and assess the views of industry participants, stakeholders and wider audiences regarding the rules, use, and penalties for rule breaches. The first part of the consultation is an online questionnaire that will be available until Sept. 6 and is open to anyone. The second part of the consultation will involve detailed discussions with relevant parties and...

Trainer Archie Watson has lodged an appeal with the British Horseracing Authority against the decision by stewards at Royal Ascot to disqualify Yoshiro Kubota's Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) from victory in last week's G1 Commonwealth Cup. Dragon Symbol and Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) moved into a joint lead approaching the final furlong of the Commonwealth Cup, at which point Dragon Symbol, ridden by Oisin Murphy, began to drift towards the far side rail, bumping Campanelle, with Frankie Dettori aboard, as he did so. Stewards deemed that at the...

The Horserace Betting Levy Board has agreed a £21.5-million loan fund through the government's Sport Winter Survival Package to aid in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. British racing has suffered over £400-million in lost racecourse revenues since the start of the pandemic, with prizemoney down by £65-million (41%) and racecourses still significantly affected by the limited number of spectators allowed to attend. A cut of £7.5-million will be utilized to enhance prizemoney for 12 months from July 2021, with 60% going to flat racing and 40% to jumps. On...

After the UK Government announced that they would be taking a four-week pause on the country's progression out of COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, the UK Racing industry acknowledged the reasons for the delay, but expressed disappointment at the news. The COVID-19 roadmap out of lockdown had been due to switch to Stage 4 on June 21, but instead the current restrictions will continue, affecting major racing events like Coral-Eclipse Day at Sandown Park, and the Moet & Chandon July Festival at Newmarket. Currently, the industry is working with the Horserace...

Dr. Jerry Hill, chief medical adviser for the British Horseracing Authority, has been awarded an MBE for services to horse racing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following racing's suspension on Mar. 18, 2020, Dr. Hill worked tirelessly with colleagues across racing and medical professionals to develop protocols to help the sport chart a safe course through the pandemic and facilitate its resumption. Dr. Hill's expertise was recognized by the DCMS when he was invited to agree guidance on the resumption of elite sports in the UK, and he took the lead...

With the news that spectators will be permitted to return to the races in Wales from Monday, racegoers are now able to attend courses across all three nations in Britain. Four-thousand spectators will be permitted at a fixture in Wales, with the first to take place under those guidelines at Chepstow on June 11. Spectators returned in England and Scotland on May 17; 4,000 spectators are currently permitted at a fixture in England, with Royal Ascot set to be a pilot event allowing 12,000. The next phase in the UK...

Organisations across British racing have united to improve diversity and inclusion across the sport under a unified "Industry Commitment". The Industry Commitment, which is part of British racing's COVID-19 Recovery Plan for British racing', aims to formalise the sport's approach to diversity and inclusion and builds on the extensive existing activity already taking place, including community engagement, education activity and charitable work. This is highlighted through the Racing Together platform which has already showcased over 80 initiatives. Organisations that have signed on to the Industry Commitment are: the British Horseracing...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the next phase of England's roadmap out of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown will go ahead as planned on Monday, meaning that limited spectators may return to English racecourses from May 17. As a result of restrictions easing across England as the Covid alert level moves from level four to level three in seven days, English tracks should be able to host 4,000 spectators or fill a venue to 50% of capacity, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), Racecourse Association (RCA) and The Horsemen's Group (GB)...

Approximately £80 million will be the Levy income for the year that ended on Mar. 31, 2021, the Horserace Betting Levy Board announced on Monday. The figure is a result of provisional submissions to date from most Levy-paying bookmakers. Originally, as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed in the UK, the HBLB had estimated a Levy return between £76-£85 million. Racing in the UK was halted from mid-March until June 1, 2020. HBLB Chairman Paul Darling commented, "There was no British racing for the first two months of the Levy year and...