In this blog, Richard Wayman, BHA Director of Racing and Betting, analyses some of the key areas within our monthly data pack for March. With the first quarter of the year behind us, we will shortly be publishing our first more detailed review of the sport’s performance in 2024. This will include, where possible, any early indications in relation to the fixture list targets that we published last November.     In the meantime, our analysis of the latest racing data is now available and, at least when it comes to race competitiveness, this continues to show contrasting ..read more

This update is intended to inform participants about the key changes that will be delivered across Programme Book 2 (23 March – 23 June). Premier Racedays We continue to see the roll-out of Premier Racedays, which are fixtures that are run for at least £250k on the Flat (£225k Sunday) and £200K over Jumps (£180k Sunday). Higher Minimum Values will apply at Premier Racedays, where, in addition, no Flat race will be worth less than £20,000 and no Jump race less than £15,000. Programme Book 2 will see the following Premier Racedays: Date Day Racecourse Code 23/03/2024 Saturday Doncaster Flat ..read more

In the final edition of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival Handicapper’s Blog, BHA’s Andrew Mealor summarises the Grade 1 races from each division and highlights some of the key ratings from last week. Chasers The star turn of the week among the chasers was undoubtedly Galopin des Champs who continued Ireland’s stranglehold in the Festival highlight by landing back-to-back Gold Cups. He didn’t quite need to match the 179 performance he produced in 2023, with a winning figure of 174 good enough this time around, but it was still the highest-rated performance of the Festival and firmly cemented his pl ..read more

The Irish, and in particular Willie Mullins, continued their domination of the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup as Galopin des Champs retained his crown, writes BHA Handicapper Martin Greenwood. Mullins notched up his fourth win in the last six years, and achieved his second back-to-back success with the same horse in that period. Al Boum Photo was no slouch as he showed when winning the race in 2019 and 2020, but Galopin des Champs is a better animal in my opinion. He was the highest-rated horse in training going in to the race on 179, mainly based on his demolition of Bravemansgame and co in the ..read more

BHA Handicappers give their initial take on the Ryanair Chase, Stayers Hurdle and Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Ryanair Chase A competitive looking renewal of the Ryanair Chase with only two pounds between the top four horses’ pre-race, two of which finished in the first three. The most interesting aspect to this year’s race looked to be that several of the leading contenders were dropping back in trip having been campaigned over 3 miles, amongst those Protektorat who had not run over this sort of trip since 2021. A keen going horse, he settled well on this occasion in behind the ..read more

State Man is a worthy Champion Hurdle winner given his overall achievements this season but the form of the race has an underwhelming feel, writes BHA Handicapper Andrew Mealor. State Man (169) looked head and shoulders above the opposition after landing all three of Ireland’s Grade 1 two miles races previously this season – not to mention his clear second to Constitution Hill in last year’s race – and he didn’t need to run near his best to justify skinny odds in what was a rather muddling affair. A steady pace resulted in an overall time 1 second slower than the earlier Supreme (albeit State ..read more

In this blog, Richard Wayman, Chief Operating Officer at the BHA, analyses some of the key areas within our refreshed monthly data pack for February. Two months into 2024 and it would be fair to say that our latest analysis of racing data, which is now available, is a bit of a mixed bag. That is not entirely unexpected as the elements often have a big say on how the sport fares at this time of year and a clearer picture will undoubtedly begin to emerge as we move into the spring. 20 Premier Jump fixtures were scheduled in January and February, and 5 of those were abandoned. At the 15 Premier f ..read more

Following a significant period of adverse weather conditions over recent months which has led to disruption of the race programme, this blog, by the BHA’s Head of Racing and Betting, Tom Byrne, explains the process behind scheduling additional fixtures and how decisions are made over the rescheduling of high-profile races. When does the BHA schedule an additional fixture? There are two main reasons we look to schedule additional fixtures. The first is to ensure an adequate number of fixtures are taking place on any given day. A blank or reduced day means a lack of racing content for our custom ..read more

By Dominic Gardiner-Hill, BHA Head of Handicapping As part of our commitment to being open and transparent, and following some of the media coverage regarding the handicapping of the ex-French, now Irish-trained Ocastle Des Mottes in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday 16 February, I thought this an appropriate time to reiterate the BHA policy with regard to the handicapping of such horses – namely those that have left France, entered training in either Great Britain or Ireland and on whom we only have their French form on which to base a rating. By way of some background information, it ..read more

By Jack Barton, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the BHA In an election year, and with key long-term issues for the sport at stake such as affordability checks and Levy reform alongside demonstrating our commitment to improving and investing in equine welfare, politics is playing a key role in defining the story of British racing in 2024. The industry’s leadership, supported by public affairs professionals across the sport, is as busy as ever as we tackle these challenges and other policy issues that impact on both our people and our equine participants. While many people in racing will be unawa ..read more