The BHA has today taken the decision to put on hold the trial initiative of the short-notice deletion of small-field races.
The period of very dry weather in recent weeks has contributed to reduced field sizes and therefore an increase in the number of races which have been deleted or are at risk of deletion. The decision to put the trial on hold may be kept under review for the remainder of the year, but, unless a decision is made to revisit the policy, the suspension of the trial will remain in place on an ongoing basis.
This initiative, whereby any handicap at Class 4 and below which receives three or fewer declarations is cancelled, was one that was put forward as part of an industry-agreed package of measures around the fixture list and race programme, which form part of an overall two-year trial. Those initiatives included the sport’s agreed focus on a two-tier approach to fixtures and premier racing, alongside significant enhancements to prize money, with the aim of encouraging ownership and the running of horses, alongside many other initiatives on both a small and large scale.
The trial of deleting races at short notice was agreed by the sport’s commercial committee as part of a package of measures designed to support race competitiveness with a view to improving our appeal to racing’s followers. The sport’s customers are put off by small-field low grade races, which is backed up by the data around these races.
However, the BHA also fully acknowledges that any such measures must be balanced against their impact on owners and other connections. We appreciate that the removal of a race at the declaration stage will be frustrating for the connections of any horses involved and have listened and taken into account the views of the NTF, ROA, trainers, owners and other stakeholders.
It was always the case that some parts of this trial would be successful and others would be less so, or would be less popular. We are aware of the strength of feeling in some quarters about this part of the trial and as a result the topic was previously raised for discussion at the BHA Board meeting in November. The view of the Board at the time was that the initiative should continue for the duration of the trial and should be reconsidered, with the benefit of all available data, following the conclusion of the trial.
However, at that time, only six races had been deleted in ten months. Since then, we’ve had an increase in the number of deleted races, currently standing at sixteen. Eight of those have come within the last two months, all over Jumps, which have obviously been impacted by the lack of rain and faster ground conditions. This recent increase in rate of cancellations has resulted in a renewed focus on this matter which has contributed to the Board’s decision.
We are grateful to all parties, especially owners and trainers, who have contributed their views in relation to this initiative and the others which form the package of trial measures. This feedback, alongside the data, is all being considered as part of the process of devising the 2026 Fixture List and race programme policy.
