BHA PLAN TO HELP OWNERS

MONETARY incentives for owners to keep horses in training are among plans likely to be announced soon as racing develops a plan to retain its key investors after the damage inflicted on the sport by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BHA yesterday unveiled the nine goals that make up the sport’s recovery plan.

They include establishing a new revenue-sharing agreement between racecourses and horsemen and a reduction of the sport’s cost base.

The proposal to reform the levy system to capture income from bets placed on international racing could bring in up to £40million annually.

But incentives to retain owners who have kept paying their training costs with little or no chance of attending a racecourse is a priority.

Nick Rust, BHA chief executive, said: ‘We are not doing enough for our owners. The type of thing we are looking at would be if you keep a horse in training for a period of time, you would receive an incentive to do so. The other way to do it is through the payment of appearance money.

‘We are committed to doing something over the next few weeks for owners.

‘We are having to look at how we can fund this but the cost of the loss of each horse in training is highly significant to the sport. Finding a way to keep horses in training will be costly but well worth any investment we make.’

Rust conceded 2021 will be a tough year for the sport with continued economic uncertainty and prize money at the top level of racing unlikely to return to pre-Covid levels.

All plans hinge on a return of crowds to tracks with hopes that Doncaster’s St Leger meeting next month can stage a pilot event.