Racing launches new welfare strategy

British racing has launched a new five-year Horse Welfare Strategy setting out 20 priorities to further improve the welfare and safety of the thoroughbred.

The main ambition of the new strategy is to enable lifetime traceability of thoroughbreds for those racing in Britain.

It is hoped that the groundwork put in by the new procedures will enable the target of 100 per cent traceability to be met.

Launched at a parliamentary reception in Westminster on Tuesday night, the British Horseracing Horse Welfare Strategy 2027–2031 builds on ‘A Life Well Lived’, the sport’s first industry-wide welfare strategy, published in 2020, and sets the direction for the next phase of welfare action across racing.

There are four outcomes which the new strategy is based around; Quality of Life, Safety, Lifetime Responsibility and Trust – spanning areas including veterinary research, injury prevention, the training environment, aftercare, data and technology, governance, transparency and public confidence.

Retraining of Racehorses, the sport’s official aftercare partner, will continue to lead the work in that sector.

Baroness Minette Batters, chair of the Horse Welfare Board, said: “Our launch of A Life Well Lived sets out an ambition to lead the world on Horse Welfare. We have made important progress in recent years, but welfare can never be an area where we stand still.

“Our responsibility is not simply to establish good welfare standards and maintain them. But to be able to continue to optimise and measure tangible benefits for our racehorses.

“One of the clearest examples of that lifetime responsibility is traceability. If we are serious about taking responsibility for our horses throughout their lives, we need to know where they are. That is why our ambition is 100 per cent lifetime traceability for thoroughbreds bred for racing in Great Britain.”

Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said: “Horseracing is the second most popular sport in the country, contributing £4.1 billion every year to our economy and employing over 85,000 people across the industry. But horseracing is also about the unique relationship between horses and people.

“This strategy is important because it reflects a simple principle – we are accountable for every horse that is bred for racing and that accountability extends throughout our horses’ lives. That responsibility is central to our sport’s future and to maintaining the trust and confidence of the public.

“This strategy sets out how we will continue to improve through better evidence, stronger collaboration, greater transparency and a relentless focus on outcomes for horses.”