Horse Welfare Board

Baroness Minette Batters will become the new independent chair of the Horse Welfare Board (HWB), replacing Barry Johnson on July 1, 2025. Formerly the president of the National Farmers Union from 2018-2024, Batters was appointed as a crossbench House of Lords peer in 2024. A director of Salisbury Racecourse, Batters also enjoyed a successful career as an amateur jockey with over 30 point-to-point wins to her name. Batters said, "I'm absolutely delighted to be appointed as the new chair of the HWB. Horse welfare will always be fundamental to racing's...

The British racing industry, in partnership with the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), is using data spanning 14 years to identify and help reduce risk in the sport, via the Racing Risk Models (RRM), the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Horse Welfare Board (HWB) announced on Wednesday. Work on the RRM began in 2018 and its development and implementation has been one of the core recommendations of the HWB's 2020 strategy, A Life Well Lived. Academic researchers from the RVC have since been analysing data collected for each race start in...

A new communications campaign, HorsePWR, has been launched by British racing, designed to share and promote the facts around welfare in horseracing. HorsePWR will have its own dedicated website to provide information about the sport and the thoroughbred, the lives they lead and the high welfare and safety standards within racing. The website also explores the areas that racing has committed to improve, from reducing risk on and off the racecourse to better supporting horses when they leave the sport. The campaign has been led by the British Horseracing Authority...

Sulekha Varma, Kate Sigsworth and Robin Mounsey have been appointed to British racing's Horse Welfare Board (HWB). Varma, head of racing and clerk of the course at Aintree, joins as racecourse representative, while Sigsworth, who is the deputy chair of the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA), will represent  the Thoroughbred Group. Mounsey is head of communications for the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and will represent that body on the board. Projects undertaken as part of the sport's 'A Life Well Lived Strategy' include British racing's first Thoroughbred census, which was completed...

British Racing's Horse Welfare Board is launching the first ever Thoroughbred census in Great Britain, in collaboration with Hartpury University. All owners of former racehorses are being asked to submit a completed census through Dec. 31. The census will help build an improved Thoroughbred data bank about former racehorses and the lives they go on to lead. Helena Flynn, Programme Director, Horse Welfare Board, said: "Improving the traceability of Thoroughbreds after they retire from racing is a fundamental part of the Horse Welfare Board's five-year welfare strategy. The launch of...

The Racing Foundation has awarded the Horse Welfare Board a grant of £3million over three years to support its cross-industry work to improve equine welfare in British racing. The grant will be used to deliver the horse welfare projects identified in the industry's "A life well-lived" strategy--a five-year plan to ensure the highest standards of welfare for all horses bred for British racing. Released in stages over the next three years, the funding will cover multiple projects to drive forward important developments in safety, data, and traceability along with supporting...

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...

Following the broadcasting of the BBC's programme Panorama: The Dark Side of Horse Racing on Monday evening, the British Horseracing Authority announced its support to investigate the images of horses being euthanized in situations which may have harmed their welfare. In addition, several leaders from the British racing industry including the BHA, as well as the Horse Welfare Board will be meeting to discuss further issues raised by the Panorama programme on Tuesday. The BHA will also be in contact with Horse Racing Ireland over the contents of the programme....

The British Horseracing Authority on Thursday opened a 10-week open, public consultation on British racing's whip rules and penalities. The consultation, a recommendation of the industry's independently chaired Horse Welfare Board, aims to gather and assess the views of industry participants, stakeholders and wider audiences regarding the rules, use, and penalties for rule breaches. The first part of the consultation is an online questionnaire that will be available until Sept. 6 and is open to anyone. The second part of the consultation will involve detailed discussions with relevant parties and...

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...

Britain's Horse Welfare Board, established to produce a strategy that unites the whole industry and drives continuous improvement in the realm of racehorse aftercare, on Thursday released its Aftercare Funding Review. The report's recommendations touch on funding, focus and integration, traceability and data, accreditation, community, education and communication and are designed to cover any horse bred for racing. The report makes recommendations that will reform the structure of aftercare provision and build trust in racing's equine welfare processes, including having Retraining of Racehorses take on a significant role as the...

Seamus Mullins has been appointed as the new member representing the Horsemen's Group on British racing's independently chaired Horse Welfare Board. Mullins replaces James Given, who will take up his post as the British Horseracing Authority's new director of equine health and welfare at the beginning of next year. Given will remain on the Horse Welfare Board in his new capacity, replacing David Sykes. Mullins said, "I'm greatly looking forward to joining the Horse Welfare Board and working with the racing industry to implement the strategy published earlier this year....