Dr Jim Walker: Industry cannot ignore its biggest investor

As this is my first Leader as new Chair of the ROA, I want to highlight the huge investment that owners make to racing. This is the time of year that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is looking at its 2026 budget and deciding on next year's fees. Its budget is a simple equation – what is needed to keep the sport running on a day-to-day basis, what is needed to invest in all business-as-usual activities, and what is needed to explore the commercial and marketing activities that the new Chair, Lord Allen, has been hired to pursue.

The cost of these activities is met by three sources: the Levy Board, via grants given to racecourses per fixture, which are then passed through to the BHA; racecourse fees, mainly subsidised by levy grants; and owners' fees. In 2025, our contribution will be close to £10 million. As inflation drives up the costs of running the sport, the increased activities undertaken by the BHA has seen the owners' fees increase by 19% over the last three years.

Whilst we have representation through the ROA, we are only a 1/6th shareholder in the BHA and yet owners are its biggest investor. There needs to be a shift to recognise that owners are by far the most important supporters of the industry. The commercialisation of the BHA must reflect this simple fact.

The 2025 national marketing campaign focused on racecourse attendance; indeed, almost all the activities around marketing over the last decade have been focused on racecourses and attendance.  There must be a change to now divert efforts towards the recruitment and retention of owners. It feels that the industry believes owners will continue to fund the sport regardless of  cost and that efforts must be aimed solely at securing the next generation of fans and punters. That has to change.

Owning horses can be the greatest experience. It is, however, expensive and can be deeply frustrating. Little, if anything, has been done centrally by the industry to secure the future of racehorse ownership. It remains a complicated  process – certainly there are administrative challenges and the ROA has been working hard at simplifying the process – but there is not enough recognition of our input. Owner-focused promotion and retention must be a key component of the commercial work entrusted to the BHA.

This column went to press before the Autumn Budget was announced on November 26. There has been a great deal of speculation around tax rises being targeted at the gambling industry. The BHA led the #AxeTheRacingTax campaign in an attempt to prevent the tax hike aimed at betting on sports, including horseracing, resulting in significant coverage in the mainline media and, apparently, making an impression in both Number 10 and 11 Downing Street.

Tax increases for the gambling industry will no doubt have consequences for our sport. Racing receives approximately £350m per annum from bookmakers through the statutory levy, media rights payments and sponsorship. Stringent tax increases on other gambling products will have repercussions for racing, often unintended.

There is an optimistic view that carving out racing from tax increases could make our product more appealing, which could boost promotion and begin to reverse the decline in betting turnover.

Yet we need to place our industry in the context of the overall economic environment. Even if we manage to avoid the direct tax rate rise, we are no doubt in for a turbulent ride while the country navigates a prolonged period of economic turmoil.

We are set for another difficult year – the results of the Budget will no doubt have an impact, as will falling foal crop numbers and, unless there is a dramatic change in approach to affordability checks, betting turnover will come under even more pressure. However, I have taken on the role of ROA Chair to help the sport negotiate the many challenges it faces, and I am eager to try and find solutions and move the industry forward.

The team at the ROA have a clear focus on representing all owners across the various industry engagements, and I am looking forward to working with them over the coming months.

As always, there are reasons to be optimistic, but we need all stakeholders to understand that only meaningful change will put horseracing back on the right path. I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable Christmas break - and plenty of winners in 2026!