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Monday, June 12, 2006
BHB's 2005 Annual Report Records Ongoing Achievements

British Racing�s resilience in the face of considerable challenges is outlined in BHB�s 2005 Annual Report, published at the BHB British Racing Review 2006 in central London today.

The Report details continued growth in a number of key areas in 2005, with further records in:

  • Owners with horses in training � 9,403
  • Horses in training � 14,388
  • Fixtures � 1,300
  • Runners � 94,659

    Other indicators such as prize money � �99.3m � and total attendances � 5.9m � while down marginally on 2004 remained substantially higher than their levels of five years ago.

    For the first time, the Finance section of the Report includes a five-year breakdown of income generated by the sport�s governing body. Expenditure over each year of that period is then divided by regulation, governance and commercial headings.

    Although 2005 marked the end of BHB�s pursuit to fund Racing through data licensing operations, the policy is shown to have earned some �64m for Racing in additional revenues. Taking account of the inevitable legal and professional fees during this period � including those defending Racing against the OFT � and commercial costs including bad debts, the net benefit to the sport was �38.6m.

    BHB Chairman Martin Broughton�s Statement reports on the progress made on developing Racing�s future funding and governance structures whilst BHB Chief Executive Greg Nichols� Review of the year surveys many of the achievements made possible by attempts to secure a commercial funding mechanism, and looks ahead to further challenges the sport faces.

    The sections of the Report covering the activities of BHB�s core departments in 2005 feature:

  • The great strides made by the Racing Department in increasing the competitiveness of Flat and Jump Racing. Ten-year comparison tables reveal some 60% of Chases to have had 8 or more runners in 2005, compared with 39% in 1995, with the number of Chases with 1 to 4 runners in the same period falling to 5% of the total from 21%
  • The ground-breaking Fixture Bidding Process, carried out for the first time in 2005 and overseen by the Racing Department
  • Extensive efforts co-ordinated by BHB to demonstrate to Government the importance of the VAT Registration Scheme for Racehorse Owners, which culminated with the announcement in 2006 that the Scheme would be extended
  • The formation of the British Racing Consumer Committee leading to a greater focus on strategic planning by the Marketing Department
  • The success of the Order of Merit in its second season, with a further boost to field sizes in the Jump Pattern
  • The Recruitment and Training Department�s formation of an overall recruitment and training strategy for the sport, including the development of careersinracing.com
  • The Stable and Stud Staff Steering Group�s continued efforts to monitor progress within the Racing and Breeding industries against the recommendations laid down by the Stable and Stud Staff Commission

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