Horse racing goes on strike for the first time in extraordinary move

Horse racing will go on strike on September 10 for the first time in the history of the sport. The extraordinary move is in protest at the Government’s proposed betting tax increase.

Four race meetings on September 10 at Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park will no longer take place that day and will be rescheduled. The strike is the day before the start of the historic four-day St Leger festival at Doncaster Racecourse.

On the same day, the sport will host a major event in Westminster where senior leaders will be joined by owners, trainers and jockeys to highlight the threat of the Treasury’s proposal on an industry which is worth £4.1billion to the UK economy.

The shock announcement comes as British Racing’s ‘Axe the Racing Tax’ campaign cranked up a gear in advance of the Autumn Budget.

The campaign is urging the Government to scrap the Treasury’s proposal to bring existing online betting duties into one single rate.

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Campaigners say it would have devastating consequences for the nation’s second-largest spectator sport that supports 85,000 jobs and which is attended by almost five million people each year.

Economic analysis commissioned by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has shown that aligning the current 15% tax rate paid by bookies on racing with that of online games of chance – currently taxed at 21% – by harmonising all remote gambling duties, could have a destructive impact on the sport with a £330 million revenue hit to the industry in the first five years, and putting 2,752 jobs at risk in the first year alone.

Racing’s decision not to race on September 10 is unprecedented. Race meetings in Britain take place on 363 days a year, with the exception of certain seasonal holidays.

With the exception of meetings being called off due to adverse weather, equine virus outbreak and national crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, this will be the first time in history that the sport has taken a collective decision not to race in protest at a Government proposal.

Brant Dunshea, Chief Executive at the British Horseracing Authority said: “We have decided to take the unprecedented decision to cancel our planned racing fixtures on 10th September to highlight to Government the serious consequences of the Treasury’s tax proposals which threaten the very future of our sport.

“British Racing is already in a precarious financial position and research has shown that a tax rise on racing could be catastrophic for the sport and the thousands of jobs that rely on it in towns and communities across the country.

“This is the first time that British Racing has chosen not to race due to Government proposals. We haven’t taken this decision lightly but in doing so we are urging the Government to rethink this tax proposal to protect the future of our sport which is a cherished part of Britain’s heritage and culture.”