UK racing

Changes have been made to the Flat Pattern and Listed Programme for 2023, the British Horseracing Authority's (BHA) Flat Pattern Committee confirmed on Friday. Focusing primarily on reducing the number of Group 3 and listed races, these are the first changes announced to help improve the performance of Britain's black-type races. Additional changes will be announced next month. These short-term measures are aimed at boosting field sizes and increasing this year's black-type race competitiveness. Other means of strengthening the race programme in 2024 and beyond are being developed through the...

HEROS has become the new primary partner for British horseracing's official welfare charity, Retraining of Racehorses (RoR). The aftercare and retraining specialist centre in Oxfordshire will provide specialist care and support for horses at their first step out of racing beginning in August. The appointment marks an important milestone in the collective establishment of racing's responsibility, and an expansion of the industry's safety net, which has been led by The Horse Welfare Board and RoR. Established and led by Grace Muir, the HEROS charity has rehomed more than 700 ex-racehorses...

The Great Racing Welfare Cycle Challenge will begin at noon on July 16 and last until noon the following day. The cycling event will raise funds for Racing Welfare, with 20 teams of four participating. This challenge sees two people cycling on the route in a 30km-loop, while the other two team members rest at the 'Riders Camp' at Cheltenham Racecourse. Among those saddling up are former champion jockeys Sir AP McCoy, Richard Johnson, Harry Skelton and Oisin Murphy. Trainer Ben Pauling is fielding two teams, while racing broadcasters Sean...

The racing public will decide which of three G1 Derby winners will join the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. Voting is now open to select from Shergar (GB) (Great Nephew), Galileo (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), and will close at midnight on Sunday May 22. Successful in the Derby in 1981, Shergar also landed the Irish equivalent and the G1 King Geroge VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. but was later kidnapped after a brief stint at stud. Former Coolmore kingpin Galileo...

The catalogue for the Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale was augmented by lot 110A, a colt by Clodovil (Ire), on Tuesday. From the family of black-type winners Haatef (Danzig), Sayedah (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), and Shimah (Storm Cat), the colt will be offered by Glending Stables. There have been six Royal Ascot winners in six years out of the sale, led by dual Group 1 winner and G2 Norfolk S. victor Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}). Doncaster Racecourse will host the 187-strong catalogue to breeze over their course at 12 p.m....

Plans for easing the remaining COVID-19 raceday restrictions were announced by British racing on Thursday. The weighing room resting requirements would lift by the end of February as a result. The provisional timetable agreed by the industry's COVID-19 Group is as follows: From Monday, 28 Feb., Weighing Room attendees will no longer be expected to show evidence of a negative lateral flow test prior to entry. From Monday, 14 Mar., racecourses will no longer be required to configure the Weighing Room complex for the purposes of COVID-19 infection control. These...

Everyone working in or involved with the racing and breeding industry in Great Britain is encouraged to take part in an online questionnaire that will map industry activity with the aim of future-proofing racing, its organisations, and the livelihoods of its people, against immediate and long-term environmental challenges. The survey, which runs until Monday, Feb. 14, may be found here. Part of a joint initiative between the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), The Racing Foundation, The Horsemen's Group and the Racecourse Association (RCA), the survey is delivered in partnership with sustainability...

The 2022 UK fixture list was published by the British Horseracing Authority on behalf of the sport's tripartite governance structure of the BHA, racecourses and horsemen and women, on Monday. Comprised of 1,482 fixtures, the 2022 fixture list was developed by the industry's Fixtures and Funding Group, which contains cross-industry representation and was approved by all members of the group and the sport's tripartite executive committee. The list was presented to the BHA Board for approval on Sept. 9. The total fixtures for 2021 was 1,486. There were several significant...

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...

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...

Under the current spectator cap put in place by the UK Government for its Roadmap out of lockdown, the five-day Royal Ascot meeting will be held with just 4,000 spectators each day. Ascot Racecourse is planning for that eventuality, but there is a slim chance that the meeting could be used as a pilot event that would allow up to 10,000 daily spectators at the venue. Step 3 of the Government Roadmap out of coronavirus restrictions is in place until at least June 21. There will be no general admission....

The 2021 Lycetts Leadership & Team Champions Awards were launched by the National Trainers Federation (NTF) and Lycetts Insurance Brokers on Monday. Entries for the awards open on May 17 and close on June 30 with the winners invited to a hospitality event to receive prizes at Sandown Park Racecourse on Sept. 15, hosted by the NTF and Lycetts Insurance Brokers. The awards, which celebrate racehorse training yards which cultivate the best team ethos, exhibit outstanding leadership qualities and demonstrate innovative approaches to management, are divided into three categories. The...