BHA AND AJA AGREE THREE-YEAR FUNDING COMMITMENT

23 Dec 2013 Pre-2014 Releases

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Amateur Jockeys Association (AJA) have agreed a three-year funding commitment from 2014, which provides more consistent funding for AJA and guarantees amateur jockey training.

In 2011 BHA announced that it would provide extra funding to AJA by contributing a proportion of prize money earned by winning and placed amateur jockeys when riding against professionals which is paid under the Rules of Racing to BHA. The nature of this arrangement however meant that this income would fluctuate from year to year depending on how successful amateur jockeys have been in any given season. The new three-year commitment instead guarantees AJA a more consistent level of funding, meaning there are fixed commitments towards jockey training and an International Racing Grant.

The agreement guarantees £24,000 each year for training for amateur riders – which from 2014 will be funded and administered by BHA’s industry training strategy – as well as the International Racing Grant which assists with the cost of amateur riders racing abroad.

BHA will also continue to provide support to amateur jockeys through the central insurance policy, of which one third is funded by the riders through their licence fee. Amateur riders will still receive free physiotherapy at approximately 1,000 meetings, including almost all Jump meetings and most Flat afternoon meetings. The total value of this contribution has been in excess of £350,000 over the previous four years.

Robin Mounsey, Media Manager for BHA, said:

“This commitment is designed to provide the AJA with a more consistent funding model and enables the organisation to plan further into the future, removing the uncertainty of the previous annual budgets. We are also pleased to be able to guarantee training for amateur riders, which will now come under BHA’s industry training strategy.”

Sarah Oliver, Chief Executive for AJA, said:

“We are delighted to agree this three year funding commitment with BHA which gives both our Association and our members more security and ensures support on the racecourse in the form of insurance and physiotherapy. Guaranteeing training for amateur riders is greatly appreciated and is vital to the development of many of our members for both Flat and National Hunt racing. In addition the continued support of international racing is a huge bonus and offers unique race riding experiences to amateur jockeys worldwide.”