The British Horseracing Authority will adopt a series of 10 measures aimed at decreasing the rates of non-runners in British racing, with the changes expected to come into effect in October.
Chief among the measures will be a quarterly publication of trainer non-runner rates. Trainers with more than 100 declarations in the period with a non-runner rate above a published threshold percentage will be suspended from using self-certificates for 12 months. Trainers above the threshold but with fewer than 100 declarations will have their situation reviewed. The other measures include:
-Barring any horse declared a non-runner with a vet's certificate from racing for the next two days.
-A stewards enquiry where a horse is scheduled to run on identical going as that on which it had been withdrawn within the space of a month.
-Consideration given to the possibility of introducing a scale of going changes within the rules of racing and requiring a more significant change of going for a horse to be withdrawn.
-All cases of late going changes will be recorded and reviewed by the BHA, with the BHA inspectorate team increasing visits to racecourses with cause for concern.
-The BHA will encourage the ROA and PJA to pay the full riding fee to the jockey of a non-runner declared after 9 a.m. on raceday.
-Where non-runners incur a fine, the fixed fine of £140 is to be increased.
Click here for full details of the recommendations.
Richard Wayman, chief operating officer of the BHA, said, “While there are a number of valid or unavoidable reasons for non-runners, it is important that, as governing body and regulator, the BHA does all that it can to reduce the number to a minimum. Non-runners are a source of frustration to those who watch and bet on the sport, creating uncertainty in betting markets, reducing participation, the number of runners, and the competitiveness of races. They can also impact significantly on jockeys and owners, especially if horses are withdrawn late. It is, of course, important that trainers have the ability to withdraw horses for valid veterinary or welfare reasons, or if there has been a change in the going. But equally, we must also ensure that such an ability is not misused. We were also clear in compiling these recommendations that we must not unfairly penalise the vast majority of trainers who operate within the spirit of the rules.”
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