In a hard-hitting report launched today, MPs and Peers warned that a triple whammy of financial threats caused by Government policies risks the future of British horseracing. They demanded that the Government acts swiftly to secure the future of a treasured national institution that is loved by millions of people across the country.

The report, Securing Racing’s Future: The Threat to British Horseracing, was produced by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock and shows how Britain’s second-largest spectator sport could be devastated by Treasury proposals to increase tax on horserace betting by bringing all existing online betting duties into one single rate.

This comes at a time when a lack of Levy reform and an inconsistent regime of financial risk checks are already threatening the finances of the sport. Combined, these three policies mean that British racing faces a deeply uncertain future.

Crucially, ahead of this year’s Budget, the Treasury is seeking views on replacing the current three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single Remote Betting and Gaming Duty. This would tax bets on horseracing at the same rate as more profitable online casino and slot games, increasing costs for online bookmakers and disincentivising them from promoting the sport.

Fewer people betting on racing would impact the sport’s funding, put jobs at risk, impact towns and communities across the country and hamper the sport’s world leading work on equine welfare.

New public polling contained in the report suggests these concerns are shared by voters. Two thirds see racing as an important part of the identity of places like Doncaster, Newmarket and Cheltenham, while over half see horseracing as an important part of British culture – with that figure rising for Labour and Reform voters.

British racing is unique in the way it brings together every layer of British society across all its communities, and as Royal Ascot week gets underway, millions of people are eagerly looking forward to enjoying one of the greatest sporting and cultural spectacles not just in Britain but anywhere in the world.

As the report makes clear, politics is always about choice, and today, MPs and Peers across all parties urged the Government to make the right choice: to safeguard a national asset and encourage its full potential and not allow a world-leading industry to fall into irreversible decline.

Read the report – Securing Racing’s Future: The Threat to British Horseracing