I’ve been training racehorses long enough to know how fine the margins are in this sport. Every horse in my yard represents years of breeding, months of preparation and hours of care from a team of people who live and breathe their work. Behind each runner is a small army – stable staff, riders, vets, farriers, feed merchants.
When the Government announced plans to “harmonise” online betting taxes, those of us in the sport were told instantly how damaging it could be. What they call harmonisation is, in truth, a tax hike. If it goes ahead, it will strip vital money from racing, cost jobs, and weaken the sport from top to bottom.
That’s why racing’s leaders took the unprecedented step of cancelling a whole day of racing. We didn’t do it lightly. It was the first time in history that the sport had voluntarily stopped itself, but we had to make clear the scale of the threat. The protest wasn’t just about trainers like me – it was about the 85,000 people across Britain whose livelihoods depend on racing and about the communities built around it.
Take Lambourn, where I live. The town lives and breathes horses. Walk through in the morning and you’ll see strings of horses on the gallops, vets’ vans pulling into yards, tack shops opening their doors. Almost everyone here is connected to racing. If owners pull back, horse numbers drop, and prize money shrinks, the knock-on effects for this town would be devastating. The same story could play out in Newmarket, Middleham, Malton, and other centres, and many other communities across the country where racecourses or training yards exist. In these places, racing isn’t a pastime, it’s the backbone of the community.
Training a horse is expensive. Feed, bedding, staff wages, transport, and veterinary care all come before a horse even gets near a racecourse. Owners already carry a big burden because of their passion for the sport and the animals. What makes racing different from other sports is that betting is part of its funding model. The money that comes in through betting is what keeps the industry flowing, supports jobs, enables us to continually improve horse welfare, and allows the whole industry to keep going.
Treating racing like online casinos or slot machines makes no sense
That’s why treating racing like online casinos or slot machines makes no sense. Racing already bears a heavier tax load than other sports, and now the Government wants to increase it again. It’s unfair, and it fails to recognise the unique role of the sport and the value of the horse at its centre.
For people outside the game, this might sound like an argument about numbers. But for us, it’s about real people and real horses. Every member of stable staff looking after their horse at the end of a long day, every rider up at dawn to take one up the gallops, every jockey waiting for their chance – those are the ones who will feel the hit if this tax goes through. Fewer horses in training means fewer jobs, fewer opportunities and, in time, fewer racecourses.
Racing has always been more than just a business. It’s Britain’s second-biggest spectator sport, but it’s also a way of life. Horses are at the centre of it all, and are the reason so many of us get up in the dark every morning.
Racing is part of the national fabric
The media response to the protest showed that people understand what’s at stake. Racing is part of the national fabric, and people don’t want to see it damaged.
I’m not usually one to protest or get political. Most trainers prefer to let the horses speak for themselves on the track. But there comes a point when staying quiet isn’t an option. If this tax rise goes through, it won’t just hit trainers and owners – it will hit every yard, every jockey, every small business tied into racing. And once those jobs and skills are lost, they won’t be easy to rebuild.
This isn’t about asking for favours. It’s about recognising that racing is different, and an important part of Britain. The Government says it wants to protect jobs and support communities. Here’s a chance to prove it. Raising taxes on racing will do the opposite.
I urge the Government to think carefully about this. Listen to the people whose lives revolve around this sport. Understand what’s at risk, not just for us, but for the wider communities and for a tradition that has lasted more than 300 years.
We want British racing to thrive for generations to come. But if this tax goes ahead, the damage will be severe and lasting and potentially put us into an irreversible decline. That’s why we took a stand.
Jamie Snowden has trained over 450 winners including two at the Cheltenham Festival – Jump racing’s biggest and best festival
