Horserace Betting Levy Board

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) published its 2023/24 Annual Report & Accounts on Tuesday. They revealed that the HBLB's statutory Levy income to the year ended Sunday, March 31 was £105m, the highest since the reforms of 2017 which added to the scope of the Levy non-retail bets placed in Great Britain with betting operators based overseas. This £105m surpassed the £100m in 2022/23 and was achieved against a backdrop of a further fall in betting turnover (amount staked) which, as in 2022/23, was mitigated by improved margins and...

A total of £2.3 million will be invested on disease surveillance, veterinary science and education programming by the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) beginning in 2024. In addition to the ongoing Infectious Disease Surveillance Programme, the new activity will include: six major research projects four small research projects one research scholarship. All of the work will be managed by the HBLB's Veterinary Advisory Committee (VAC). Making contributions alongside the HBLB are the British European Breeders' Fund (BEBF), the Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust, The Racing Foundation and the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association...

If you follow Alan Delmonte on Twitter or X, or whatever they call it these days, you will know him for his offbeat sense of humour. But as chief executive of the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) for the past 11 years, he has one of the most serious jobs in British racing, overseeing the distribution of around £100m a year. Delmonte is, to some extent, the sport's Chancellor of the Exchequer, but there is an awful lot of important work going on behind the scenes at the Levy Board that make...

The third annual National Racehorse Week, from Sept. 9-17 in the UK, has been deemed a success after a record number of open days and community events, Great British Racing (GBR), who funds the initiative alongside the Racing Foundation and Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), announced on Tuesday. Over 15,000 free places were made available across the seven days across the country for the public to come and experience a day in the life of a racehorse. From training facilities and studs, to aftercare and rehoming centres, 209 different events...

A record 75-plus employee teams from across racing volunteered in their local communities, volunteering 700 hours for over 40 charities, making it a record year for the May 25 Racing Together Community Day. A wide range of racing organisations signed up for the fifth Racing Together Community Day, engaging with the communities in which they operate in a number of ways. One specific growth area was among the training yards--11 volunteered this year. The team at Kubler Racing delivered homemade cakes to the elderly in Lambourn while staff at Susan...

Over £10 million in bonuses have now been paid out by the Great British Bonus (GBB) scheme, the organisation announced on Friday. Started three years previously, the scheme incentivises and rewards the breeding, buying and racing of British-bred fillies by awarding bonuses of up to £20,000 per race. GBB Operations Executive, Charlie Newton said, "We are thrilled to have reached this record milestone. The scheme arrived at a time when it was desperately needed. Not only were we feeling the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit, but the breeding industry had...

The Retraining of Racehorses Showcase will return live at Hartpury University and College in Gloucestershire on Saturday, Apr. 23. Supported by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, the RoR Showcase is dedicated to displaying the versatility of retrained racehorses. There will be a superb line-up of star former racehorses working with top equestrian experts, trainers and top riders, who will give visitors an inspirational day of live demos, close-up clinics, displays, advice and expertise. Tickets are £15 per ticket (saving £5), or car share special of three tickets for two at...

Tom Byrne has been appointed head of racing and betting for the British Horseracing Authority, a revised role that replaces head of racing and racecourses. That position was previously held by Paul Johnson, who commences his role as chief executive of the National Trainers Federation in January. Byrne joins the BHA after four years with the Horserace Betting Levy Board as operations manager. He previously held roles with GBI Racing and Racing Post. He will begin in the role in February and oversee the management and development of the BHA's...

A contribution of £28.1 million towards the funding of the UK racing's fixture list from Sept. 1-Dec. 31 was agreed to by the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) on Monday. Of that amount, £21.8 million will go toward prize money, bringing the HBLB's annual prize money grants to just over £78 million, 32% higher than the £59.3 million originally approved for 2020 prior to the disruption caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These 2021 figures do not include the sums for further prize money and regulatory grants announced as part...

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...

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...

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...