• Early Career Programme offers a range of opportunities for candidates finishing higher education or those with equivalent skills
• 2025 British Horseracing Development Programme will mark the 35th running of the programme

Participants for the 35th British Horseracing Development Programme, which will begin on Monday 30 June 2025, have been confirmed today. The Programme will this year celebrate more than three decades of supporting and developing new entrants to the racing industry.

A total of 18 successful applicants (listed below) have been assigned placements for 2025, which will begin with a two-week residential induction course in Newmarket, during which speakers from across the industry will deliver talks alongside visits to key venues including Tattersalls, Newmarket Racecourse, Dalham Hall Stud and some historic training yards.

This fortnight is followed by a placement of a minimum of eight weeks at one of a range of employers across racecourses, racing’s administrators, media, the British Horseracing Authority and more.

Before those placements begin, an event marking the 35th anniversary and sponsored by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, StarSports and the Racing Post will be held at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket. Alumni from down the years have been invited to join the class of 2025 to celebrate the legacy of the British Horseracing Development Programme and the combined effort of the industry as a whole in making it the success story that it remains today.

The Programme, which offers those leaving higher education or with equivalent skills and capabilities the opportunity to explore a career in racing, has acted as a pathway into the racing industry for many leading figures, including:

• Jim Allen, General Manager at Epsom Downs Racecourse
• Alan Delmonte, Horserace Betting Levy Board Chief Executive
• Ed Chamberlin, ITV Racing Lead Presenter
• Tom Kerr, Racing Post Editor
• Sulekha Varma, Jockey Club Regional Head of Racing and Clerk of the Course at Aintree
• Amy Starkey, The Jockey Club
• Claire Sheppard, Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Chief Executive
• Simon Clare, Ladbrokes Coral Consumer PR Director at Entain

Zoe Elliott, Head of Careers Marketing and Recruitment for Careersinracing, said: “I would like to congratulate the individuals who have secured a placement on the 2025 British Horseracing Development Programme. The potential that we see in the hundreds of applicants each year is extremely high

“The list of those for whom the programme has been a springboard to successful careers in our sport is long, leaving no doubt as to the enormous impact that the British Horseracing Development Programme has had down the years. We are also proud that we have been able to offer ongoing career guidance opportunities for those that have not made it onto previous programmes, ensuring racing is supporting those expressing an interest in our sport,  into the wide variety of opportunities available.

“We are all excited to welcome the 2025 intake and follow their journeys as they seek to carve out their own careers in racing.

“As always, we are grateful to all of those who sponsor placements on the programme and to those who give up their time to share their insights with each year’s intake, without whom none of what has been achieved will be possible.”

The full list of participants for the 2025 British Horseracing Development Programme is as follows:

Notes to editors:

1. For more information on the British Horseracing Development Programme, click here.
2. Those who have taken part in the programme are asked to update their career details on this form. Please click here.