A triple whammy of financial threats caused by Government policies risks the future of British horse racing, MPs and peers will warn on Monday [June 16].
In a hard-hitting report, the cross-party group of politicians will demand that the Government acts swiftly to secure the future of a treasured national institution that is loved by millions of people across the country.
The report, Securing Racing’s Future: The Threat to British Horseracing, has been produced by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock. To be published in Westminster at lunchtime on Monday 16 June, it shows how Britain’s second-largest spectator sport could be devastated by Government proposals to hike online betting taxes.
This comes at a time when damaging affordability checks, which are already restricting people who enjoy a flutter on the horses, and a failure to deliver a more sustainable central funding model mean that the sport that gave the country household names like Red Rum, Frankel and Desert Orchid faces a deeply uncertain future.
Crucially, ahead of this year’s Budget, the Treasury is seeking views on replacing the current three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single Remote Betting and Gaming Duty. This would tax bets on horse racing at the same rate as more profitable online casino and slot games, increasing costs for online bookmakers and disincentivising them from promoting the sport.
Fewer people betting on racing would impact the sport’s funding, put jobs at risk, impact towns and communities across the country and hamper the sport’s world leading work on equine welfare.
New public polling suggests these concerns are shared by voters. Two-thirds see racing as an important part of the identity of places like Doncaster, Newmarket and Cheltenham, while over half see horse racing as an important part of British culture – with that figure rising for Labour and Reform voters.
As Royal Ascot week gets underway, millions of people are eagerly looking forward to enjoying one of the greatest sporting and cultural spectacles not just in Britain but anywhere in the world.
British racing is unique in the way it brings together every layer of British society across all its communities.
As the report makes clear, politics is always about choice and today MPs and Peers across all parties are urging the Government to make the right choice: to safeguard a national asset and encourage its full potential and not allow a world-leading industry to fall into irreversible decline.
Dan Carden MP, co-chair of the APPG on racing and bloodstock, said: “The message from this report is clear: British racing needs this Labour Government to be on its side.
Racing is part of our national story, and its enjoyment and support extends all the way from rural to urban working class communities.
I’m calling on the Government to listen and to act in order to secure a fair funding model, protect jobs and allow horse racing to thrive for future generations.”
Nick Timothy MP, co-chair of the APPG on racing and bloodstock, said: “Horse racing is one of the crown jewels of British sport and culture. Newmarket, in my constituency, is the centre of racing and breeding in Britain. Some of the most important racing operations in the world are based in Suffolk, and these businesses invest huge sums of money into the local economy.
This is a story we could tell across the country, from rural villages to towns like Cheltenham and Doncaster, where horse racing is part of the social fabric and has been for centuries.
The public recognise this. Nobody will forgive ministers if their decisions lead to the decline of the nation’s second-biggest spectator sport. The time for warm words has ended – we now demand action. The Government must listen to the public and take immediate measures to secure the future of horse racing in Britain.”
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, vice chair of the APPG on racing and bloodstock, said: “Horse racing benefits every aspect of the economy, national and local, leisure, tourism and farming.
That is why any future gambling proposals need to recognise the special contribution racing makes and the particular challenges, domestic and international, it faces at this time. Government must focus on tackling the black market for betting, which deprives both Treasury and the sport of much-needed funds.”
Lord Herbert of South Downs, member of the racing and bloodstock APPG, said: “Royal Ascot this week will remind us that we have world-class racing which is enjoyed by millions, but this great British success story is being undermined by misguided and entirely avoidable government policies that I’m sorry to say started under the last administration.
If any other major sport were to be so damaged by one government blow after another there would be an outcry. Racing isn’t asking for public money — it just needs government to desist from these harmful actions and get behind the industry.”
Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), said: “The British people’s affection for horse racing is well known but this compelling report makes clear just how much it means to them.
The sport is a cherished national institution, loved by people across every part of society, across every type of community, across every political party.
It is time that the Government recognised that passion across the country for our sport and developed policies that supported it, allowed it to survive and thrive instead of risking its future.
The cultural, social and economic value of racing is huge for towns and rural areas across Britain. It is those communities that will suffer the job losses, the decline in community pride and the loss of identity that will come if racing is allowed to fail.
British racing cannot – and must not – be allowed to fail. All of us who love and depend on this iconic sport call on the Government to recognise the depth of the feeling and act now to back British racing.”
• Read Securing Racing's Future: The Threat to British Horseracing
• Read HM Treasury’s proposals on remote gambling duties
• Visit the BHA website