British Horseracing Board – Everything You Need to Know About This Organisation

Considering you’ve probably seen a few races and read a few articles about the sport, then you’ve definitely heard about the British Horseracing Board (BHB), also known today as the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The BHB is essentially the regulator behind the whole industry in the UK, but what does it exactly do in order to govern such a massive area of interest? Before we get to the point of telling you more about the organisation, we would like to go through a brief history of horseracing in the UK. This way you could get a more firm grasp on the importance of this authority.

Horseracing in the United Kingdom – Brief History

Many people who aren’t fans of equine racing label it as a brutal sport. Who’s to blame them? At the end of the day, some of them have a point. Horse racing’s origins date back to about 4500 BC when nomadic tribesmen first domesticated the equines in Central Asia. Then, in the far 12th century, the modern horse racing’s foundation was built in England, and many Arab horses were imported in the next few centuries. Ever since the relationship between the United Kingdom and the horsy sport has had many ups and downs.

Later, in the 17th century, the town of Newark became the first place to hold an official betting horseracing match. To this day, the marketplace town of Newark is known as the birthplace of the equine sport. As horse riding went on its way to becoming a tradition and a world-recognised sport, many new rules and regulations were required. However, horseracing is one of the few sports in the world which concept has never changed. It’s always about equines, and it’s still about finishing first. At the time, a Jockey Club was formed, and it was responsible for regulating the sport.

Throughout the years, many races were held, both small and big. However, three races in the UK were different than the rest and are often labelled today as the Triple Crown. Those are the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Only a few equestrians and their horses have managed to win all three of them. The horseracing industry gained unseen popularity and grew into the millions in the 20th century. However, it was not all sunshine and rainbows, as the attention also brought concerns about corruption, drama, lawsuits, and many more challenges.

Although horseracing is widely recognised and praised as the Sport of Kings, quite a few times has it seen the darker side of things. The sport has had a lot of dirt thrown at it – doping scandals, wagering scams, corruption, swapping horses, rider issues and much more. Especially in the eighties, there was a boom of con-artists trying to make a quick buck for a rapid retirement. The old favourite horsy sport was in a desperate need of help. In order to maintain its reputation, keep the game fair, and preserve the love of fans across the whole country, horseracing needed an authoritative regulator.

What Is the British Horseracing Board (BHB)?

Before diving into explanations, it’s worth to mention that The Jockey Club, a private community founded in 1752, was in charge of the horseracing regulations until 1993. However, after facing many legal challenges and public criticism, which directly translated to the sport, the Jockey Club had no other choice, but to share responsibilities with an independent body. In the eyes of the folk, the club, as a private organisation, had no right to be in charge of an industry so big and powerful. In other words, people from the UK were afraid that the regulations and fixtures were serving private interests.

The British Horseracing Board became the new independent governing organ for the horsy sport in 1993. The new organisation took a big part of the responsibilities previously held by The Jockey Club. The primary mission of the British Horseracing Authority Board was, and still is, to boost the popularity of the sport, promoting it and making it safer, both for the equestrians and the equines. When it comes to the actual races, another thing that the new independent body wants to do is to provide enough transparency by eliminating corruption and set-up concerns.. That way, punters can feel safer when they bet.

Being fully responsible for the British Racing’s actions, the BHA promises to that every sports event will be brought with more entertainment than before. The new British Horseracing Board fixtures are working to prevent any risks or threats that the industry could face. The independent organisation takes pride in providing job and career opportunities for the young. Not only can the youngsters start working in the BHB organisation itself, but they can be hired by breeders, racing teams, and other sectors in the industry. The governing organ continually works on promoting charity activities.

One of the primary campaigns is called Retraining of Racehorses, and the British Horseracing Board officially launched it. The goal of the charity is to raise funds to help retraining and rehoming retired racehorses. That’s one way to pay respect to the veteran sports equines. The BHB takes part in another charity called Racing to School that delivers over 350 events each year. The campaign basically aims to raise funds so that youngsters can be trained for free. In 2018, the number of participants reached 14,000! The third big campaign that the BHB officially promotes is Tickets for Troops.

How Does the British Horseracing Board Complete the Mission?

The functions of the British Horseracing Board resemble the ones of a country’s government. Imagine that horseracing is the nation, and the government is the BHB. The authority has the mission to work for the folk’s interest, right? The case is the same with horseracing. By prioritising the welfare of the horses and the riders, the organisation promises to be a 100% transparent, to stay in tune with the economic weather changes, and to preserve the strong heritage of British racing as a sport and an industry.

One of the main concerns that the people and the government have had since betting on horse races became famous, was corruption. Punters used to believe that the Jockey Club was controlled by wealthy breeders, racers, and big-fish bettors. Who can blame them for that? Suppose a private community has all the rights to do whatever it wants in terms of regulations of such a humongous industry. In that case, it’s expected to be concerned about what’s going on behind the curtain! That’s why the BHB focused on finding a solution to become transparent enough for people to drop this belief. Here are a few of the British Horseracing Board fixtures and responsibilities:

• Representing British horseracing
• New regulations and rules
• Preventing risks that the industry faces
• Reviewing and re-writing old
• Recruiting more employees
• Organising charities and special events
• Posting updates about investments and changes
• Supporting Responsible Gaming

In 2017, for the first time, the BHB developed an Integrity Threat Assessment (ITA) that would be able to identify and quantify the level of risk and threat that the industry might face. After finding out about certain upcoming dangers, the British Horseracing Board would act. The independent, authoritative organ reviewed and re-wrote the anti-doping rules, the racecourse licensing regime, the trade of bloodstock rules, and initiated more legislative changes. You could say that horse betting is the safest it has ever been. However, the changes don’t stop there.

Another thing that the British Horseracing Board has promised was to improve the speed and quality of the investigational and prosecutorial processes. The organisation plans to achieve that by recruiting more employees and investing more in the authority’s communication resources. The transparency of horse racing has significantly grown since the British Horseracing Board fixtures took effect. The trust is reinforced by the fact that every single investment, process, and result by the hands of the organisation, is carefully listed in its website. You should know that transparency and trust are just a fragment of what the BHB has brought to the sport in the UK.

The British Horseracing Authority Board – Careers in Racing

How does such an old sport look as new as ever? How are the traditions and heritage preserved? The BHA made a genius move by starting a campaign called Careers in Racing (CIR), and while its name is pretty self-explanatory, it still leaves some mystery behind. Being the authoritative governing organ, the BHA has the power to serve as a recruiter for businesses in the industry. In the Careers in Racing website British people can find more than 40 job titles involved in horse racing that they can easily apply for.

The industry rejuvenates itself by continually looking to hire young people. With modern, colourful, and interactive features, their website has everything that someone who wants to start a career in racing has to know. However, many people still prefer to bet on horses, rather than working with them.

The BHA did a fantastic job at preserving the traditions and the national heritage of horseracing in the UK, but in 2020, a new challenge emerged for the whole industry and even the world itself. Many businesses were shut down – industries fell apart, borders were closed, public gatherings were forbidden, and, respectively, sporting events were nowhere to be seen, with virtual horse racing betting being the only alternative for the dedicated punters. The tremendous challenge has changed the world as we know it, but was the British Horseracing Authority Board able to get the industry through all of this?

Horseracing in the UK During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Undoubtedly, economies across the globe have gone through a lot of changes in 2020. Not only did the unemployment rates skyrocket, but a lot of businesses and organisations were forced to shut down, just so they could prevent more losses. Horseracing events were also cancelled, because, just like many other sports, they were deemed non-essential and would have people gathering, which is highly discouraged. The British Horseracing Board had to come up with new, stricter regulations that would keep both the horses, the jockeys, and the observers safe. Not only that, but the BHB had to help the horseracing businesses and teams in need!

Suspended on March 18th, British racing was in a desperate need for help, for it hasn’t faced such a challenge before. All the 59 racecourses had no income and the jobs of 85,000 employees were at risk. However, the British Horseracing Board had plans to get through the situation. Cancelling all the major races during March, April and May, the BHB had set its eyes on coming back on track. The governing organ had set strict safety rules so that equestrians and their horses remain safe.

In order to keep the industry intact, the British Horseracing Board has drawn £22 million in emergency funds to help its people, businesses, and communities as they battle through the Coronavirus pandemic. The cash was used to support training yards, stable staff, and the welfare of horses. It also helped jockeys and the self-employed. At the same time, the British Horseracing Authority Board was always focused on one single thing – bringing the live events at the horse racing tracks and betting back.

The sole purpose of getting back on the turf might have sounded selfish, irresponsible, and hasty from the British Horseracing Authority Board. Still, horseracing has quite a few differences from other sports where players are all-human and can simply be quarantined. You see, if stable keepers, horse sitters, blacksmiths, and handymen would have to stay at home, who would take care of all the animals? Who will keep the breeding going on? That’s right; the whole industry would ultimately collapse.

British Horseracing Coming Back

Having so much manpower was one of the few reasons why horse racing was among the first major sports to go live during the quarantine. The employees would rather go to work and follow safety rules than stay at home and wonder if they’ll ever be able to get their jobs back. If you’re a horseracing business, you can’t merely layoff your workers and let the horses starve, but in order to keep paying their wages, you need to have an income, right?

British horseracing was able to make a comeback, and the BHB was the main catalyst for that, raising awareness, vouching for return, bringing emergency support, and setting up strict safety standards. You could say that horseracing was one of the few sports industries that was able to get back on its feet so quickly. However, nowadays, most people prefer to use streaming services to watch the live events, and while they’re at home, many punters would still like to bet on horseracing, using some of the top horse racing betting sites. A more convenient option nowadays is to bet on their mobile phones, taking advantage of some of the best horse racing betting apps in the UK. With the rising tide of wagering at home, a message had to be spread.

The British Horseracing Authority Board has always been a vivid supporter of Responsible Gaming organisations. Such organisations essentially help battle gambling addiction and work for its prevention. We all know that betting on horseraces is a form of gambling, that means the authorities have to take full responsibility to spread the message about the dangers of becoming a problem gambler. The governing organ suggests that punters should be more careful with their bets, that they should take occasional breaks from gambling, and that horse race wagering shouldn’t be viewed as an income opportunity.