The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has today confirmed the introduction of mandatory completion deadlines for all racecourses to have upgraded their weighing room facilities.

This follows a meeting of the BHA Board, at which it was agreed that:

• Racecourses that have committed to complete their work by 31 December 2026 will be required to meet this deadline. By this point, it is expected that at least 80% will have finished the redevelopment work. If courses don’t meet this deadline, then consideration will be given to appropriate sanctions, determined on a case-by-case basis.
• The remaining 12 racecourses must finalise the upgrades by 31 December 2027, but will be strongly encouraged to do so before the beginning of July 2027. Racecourses that fail to meet the 31 December 2027 deadline will not be permitted to stage a fixture until the redevelopment has been completed.
• Racecourses that do not currently have a dedicated warm-up area are required to provide equipment and sufficient space for jockeys to use by 31 July 2025.

Work to improve and modernise weighing room facilities has been underway for several years, with the aim of delivering consistently high standards and improving access to valet, food, warm-up and rest facilities for all jockeys, including through new gender-neutral areas.

Essential safeguarding measures were prioritised and delivered at all racecourses by February 2022. But progress on the wider redevelopment has taken longer than expected, with racecourses citing financial and local authority planning-related challenges contributing to the delays.

In total, 14 racecourses have now finalised the upgrade work and are operating under the new arrangements, with York Racecourse currently using a female valet based in the female changing area. A further 14 courses are due to complete their redevelopment during 2025.

The remainder of racecourses will be required to meet the new deadlines, with dispensation only considered should issues arise that are beyond the venue’s immediate control, such as delays due to heritage listings, planning restrictions or environmental damage from, for example, flooding or fire.

In the meantime, the BHA, Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) and Racecourse Association (RCA) have agreed interim measures which all racecourses are expected to meet. The interim arrangements ensure that jockeys of all genders have access to essential services while the substantive redevelopment work takes place.

If these interim standards are not being met, this should be reported directly to the BHA stewards on the day and/or the BHA racecourse operations department so that any issues can be addressed as soon as possible.

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) has, since 2023, made available loans of up to £400,000 per racecourse to help support delivery of the weighing room upgrades. So far, HBLB has lent £1.6m to four racecourses, which represents approval of all applications received. HBLB’s deadline for loan applications is 31 March 2026.

Brant Dunshea, the BHA’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, said:

“Our jockeys are elite athletes and the facilities they use should reflect this. We understand the disappointment that the work has taken longer than expected, especially as where racecourses have completed their upgrades, the new layout works well and the feedback is very positive.

“The firm deadlines we are announcing today are hopefully a significant step forward. They are underpinned by clear regulatory action and linked directly to a racecourse’s licence to hold fixtures.

“We hope that this action provides reassurance to jockeys, valets, officials and everyone else operating in a weighing room on a raceday about our commitment to delivering the necessary improvements – and doing so as quickly as possible.”

Notes to editors:

The Weighing Room Facilities Project is overseen by a cross-industry approvals group, consisting of the BHA, Professional Jockeys Association and Racecourse Association, alongside individual jockey, valet and racecourse representatives. The approvals group meets every fortnight to consider, review and agree development proposals submitted by the racecourses. It also provides a forum to consider feedback from jockeys, valets, officials and others who are using the new facilities, which helps inform and support developments at other racecourses and embed new ways of working.

For more background information, please see this BHA blog, produced in December 2024.