Last month, the BHA released the BHA 2024 fixture list, which includes 170 “Premier Racedays” that offer higher prize money and feature top horses. The BHA has also committed to investing in improving Sunday racing and increasing competitiveness across all fixtures. These plans are part of a new long-term industry strategy, with changes to be trialed for two years. To support these plans, the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) will provide an additional £3.8m ($4.7m) in funding.
One of the reasons for these changes, according to the BHA, is to support the betting aspect of racing. The organization has set three primary betting-related targets for the upcoming 2024 season:
- Improve the performance of Saturday events by spreading fixtures throughout the day. This involves having 32 Saturdays with only three fixtures during the protected window between 2pm and 4pm, with the aim of achieving a 6% to 7% increase in total betting turnover compared to other Saturdays.
- Introduce a new betting session on Sunday evening to outperform midweek floodlit fixtures, which currently take place between Tuesday and Thursday. The goal is to increase turnover by 15% to 20%.
- Address the decline in betting on British racing by adding more Premier Fixtures. These events typically perform 1% to 2% better than other fixtures and are expected to contribute to a slowdown in the decline of betting activity.
The BHA believes that implementing these targets, along with other proposed changes for 2024, could potentially improve the financial situation of racing by approximately £90m over a five-year period. However, the BHA acknowledges that not all changes may be immediately successful and that some may require time to take effect. They emphasize the importance of measuring and analyzing the impact of these changes through measurable data and targets.
In addition to their own plans, the BHA opposes the proposal of affordability checks as put forward in the government’s white paper. Julie Harrington, BHA’s managing director, considers blanket affordability checks as “not appropriate” and does not support their introduction.
