BHA

Stewards will be able to declare a horse a non-runner in any race without starting stalls if they deem that contender has been denied a fair start after a rule change was made by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). Beginning next Wednesday, the rule change brings both NH and Flat together. There was already a similar rule in place since last May for horses jumping from the starting stalls. Stewards will be able to deem a horse a non-runner if they believe the horse did not get a fair start...

A number of changes to the upcoming 2025/2026 National Hunt programme, including a minimum rating requirement for Grade 1 novice and juvenile hurdles, were announced by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) on Thursday. Horses will only be allowed to run in the top-level contests should they have achieved a rating of 110 or higher, either through a published handicap mark or as assessed by the BHA handicapper to have to raced to that level in at least one hurdle run. There is also an increase in the number of weight-for-age...

Wednesday was a dark day for British racing. Racing cancelled across the land while the sport's leaders made an empassioned stand in the country's seat of power against a proposed rise in betting tax, warning of plenty more dark days to come.  There can be no denying the intent with which the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has set about alerting the government as to the very real threat to Britain's second-biggest spectator sport. The outcome of a proposed 'harmonisation' of betting taxes, which could see the tax on horserace betting...

National Trainers Federation (NTF) chief executive Paul Johnson has been appointed to the Board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). He assumes the role with immediate effect, while the process continues to implement agreed governance reforms, working towards the establishment of an independent board of directors. Joining the Board as one of the two member-nominated directors, Johnson has been nominated by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, Racehorse Owners Association and licensed personnel. He takes over from John Ferguson, whose term on the Board has concluded. Johnson's previous roles within British racing...

Lord Charles Allen has outlined his vision of turning British racing into "a modern commercial and cultural powerhouse" as he assumed his position as the new chair of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) on Monday. Allen, who also offered his backing for the cancellation of next Wednesday's racing in protest of proposed betting tax changes, believes that with the "right governance and ambition" the sport can realise its full potential. In a statement, he said, "I am delighted the industry is coming together on September 10 to say 'Axe the...

In an extraordinary move by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), no race meetings will take place in Britain on Wednesday, September 10. The refusal to race is a protest at the British government's proposed tax rise on horserace betting, which, if approved, would bring it in line with betting on online gaming, pushing it up from 15 per cent to 21 per cent. This will be the first time that the sport has voluntarily refused to race in its modern history. The four meetings scheduled for that day will move...

Premier Racedays will be cut by more than two-thirds in 2026, with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) conceding that dilution of the original concept had lessened its anticipated impact. The idea was initially introduced in 2024 as a two-year pilot, with 170 fixtures designated as Premier Racedays which met certain criteria around prize-money and quality and were intended to showcase the very best of the calendar. A total of 162 Premier Racedays were scheduled for 2025, but next year will see just 52, focused on British racing's showpiece occasions. The...

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced that Lord Allen of Kensington will start work in his post as chair of racing's regulators from September 1. The Labour peer was due to take up the role on June 2, but his tenure was delayed as the BHA said he wished to "continue meeting stakeholders to better inform his vision for the sport". The BHA board currently has an independent chair, four independent directors and four member-nominated directors - two from the racecourses and two nominated by the sport's participants -...

Brant Dunshea, acting chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), has revealed that the BHA is working to produce a set of "incredibly strict conditions" with Oisin Murphy following his conviction for drink-driving. Murphy, 29, was last week fined £70,000 and banned from driving for 20 months having pleaded guilty to one count of driving a motor vehicle while over the prescribed limit of alcohol. Until the criminal proceedings were finalised, the BHA did not have the full details surrounding the case, according to Dunshea, who confirmed that conversations...

Julian Richmond-Watson and Simon Mockridge were each honoured with separate awards during the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) Flat Breeders' Awards, sponsored by Watership Down Stud at Chippenham Park on Wednesday evening. Formerly the chairman of the TBA and now filling that same role at the Thoroughbred Group since 2023 as well as being a board member of the Horseracing Betting Levy Board (HBLB) and a member of the British Horseracing Association (BHA) Flat Pattern Committee, Richmond-Watson received the Andrew Devonshire Bronze which acknowledges outstanding achievement and contribution to the British...

A group of U.S.-based racing investigators recently returned from a two-week intensive exchange program where they swapped ideas and soaked up perspectives from their counterparts at organizations like France Gallop and the British Horseracing Authority. Members of the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) who work at tracks and for regulators across the U.S. were given the chance to see how integrity is measured in Europe and what practices work best in France and England. "The second annual trip was a great success, which we could not have done without our...

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has urged the sport to collectively lobby the Government to back British racing and axe a proposal from the Treasury which could hit racing's finances to the tune of £66m in lost income. Those figures were published by the BHA for the first time on Wednesday, highlighting the potentially catastrophic consequences of the proposal to hike tax on horserace betting by bringing existing online betting duties into one single rate. At a time when affordability checks and the lack of a sustainable central funding model...