Racing’s ruling body has had many better days than Thursday, when it admitted that its finances were in worse shape than had been hoped and then had to correct a mistake by one of its officials who misread a photo-finish. The bad news began with the British Horseracing Authority’s newly published Budget Guide 2016, which forecasts a third consecutive year in deficit, despite optimistic noises made by its chief executive just three months ago.
Next year’s BHA budget now plans for total spending of £31.9m, an increase on previous expectations of more than £1m, leading to a deficit of £773,000. The BHA had been run at an annual surplus to 2013 and it was something of a surprise to learn in September that a deficit of £1.3m had been run up in 2014, while a smaller deficit was expected for this year.
At that time, Nick Rust, the BHA’s chief executive, said: “We are working on the basis now that we will move back into surplus next year without placing a huge burden on our participants.” But the hefty 2016 deficit will come despite increases in many of the fees the BHA charges to jockeys, trainers, owners and racecourses.
That means Rust will get less credit than he might have hoped for creating the Budget Guide with the aim of making his organisation more transparent. In a statement attached to it, he said: “Whilst we are proud of the breadth and quality of the services that we provide … it comes at a cost. We recognise that times are tough financially and have attempted to keep [fee increases] to a minimum. We are committed to exploring opportunities to reduce our cost base without compromising our service levels.”
The cost of the BHA’s deficits will be met from its cash reserves, which, the guide says, will stand at £3m at the end of this year. The authority’s aim is to restore those reserves to £4m via future surpluses.
Racing professionals resentful at the latest increases in fees are likely to ask questions about staffing levels at the BHA, which employs more than 220 people. Its employment cost is projected to rise from £14.9m this year to £15.7m next, an increase that almost matches the expected deficit in 2016.
Will Lambe, the BHA’s director of corporate affairs, emphasised that the budget is discussed with industry professionals at all stages. “We had a number of years of freezing the fees but we now hope we’re entering a period of sustainable growth and it’s time to invest.”
Later, the BHA intervened to change the result of Lingfield’s bumper on Saturday, placing Quarenta first ahead of The Blue Bomber, the raceday judge having misread a murky photo-finish and placed them in the wrong order. The authority will now consider what can be done to improve the quality of photos when failing light is a problem and hinted that it may encourage judges to take TV replays into account when the photo is not decisive by itself.
The authority also disqualified So Beloved from his July victory in Goodwood’s Betfred Mile, having discovered an unspecified quantity of bute in the horse’s system, making Belgian Bill the winner four months after the event. David O’Meara, So Beloved’s trainer, was fined £1,000.
“I’ve no idea how it got into his system,” said O’Meara, who added that the horse had not been treated with bute at any time in the months before the race. “The BHA have conducted a thorough investigation and they still can’t find how it got into his system.”
Bute is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory which can be used on horses in training so long as it has left their system before a raceday. It is believed that So Beloved has been tested on other occasions since the Goodwood race without returning a positive.
