The Racing Foundation celebrates 10th anniversary having granted over £35 million

14 Dec 2022

The year 2022 marks 10 years since the inception of the Racing Foundation.

But what is the story of the charitable Foundation that’s given over £35million in funding to charitable causes in British Racing?

The Racing Foundation was set up in 2012 with a £78m endowment from the net proceeds of the UK government’s sale of the Tote with the principle aim of supporting charitable purposes associated with the horseracing and thoroughbred breeding industry.

By supporting charitable work and initiating encouraging and supporting the creation of co-ordinated strategies across the racing industry, the Foundation drives progress in four key areas: people, equine welfare, community engagement and environmental sustainability.

An open grants programme is offered three times a year, supporting innovative projects that address issues faced by the industry and offering a range of organisational support opportunities. A small grants programme supplements this work along with a pro-active programme designed to support major industry challenges.

The sum of giving by the Foundation’s seven-strong Board of Trustees, Chaired by Julia Budd, is vast. Over £35m has been invested in the industry so far with the support of Chief Executive Rob Hezel and his team, all with the purpose of making a difference in racing by acting as a catalyst and a funder of improvement.

Many projects supported by the Racing Foundation have led to tangible industry change.

Since 2012, the Racing Foundation has given £7.9m to progressing equine welfare throughout British racing. Of this, £1.5m has been allocated to equine science research grants. One research grant included the University of Exeter’s equine vision study which ultimately led to the execution of the Orange to White Project.

Exeter University’s study found that changing the wood and vinyl padding of take-off boards, guard rails and top boards from orange to white provided increased contrast and visibility for horses, leading to improved jumping performance.

As of December 2022, every jumps course in Britain has seen their take-off board and markers change colour with financial backing from the Horserace Betting Levy Board, with data being continuously collected to gain insight into safety improvements.

With an expected three-year time lag until sufficient data is collected to analyse its effectiveness, initial indicators are positive.

The Racing Foundation has also been actively involved in developing the project team at the Horse Welfare Board who are responsible for driving the activities outlined in the industry’s horse welfare strategy A life Well Lived. A four-strong project team has been funded by the Foundation, who have committed to giving a sum of £3m over three years to deliver 17 projects in the areas of safety, data, and traceability.

“Racehorse welfare is a moving target that has traditionally moved along very slowly for 50 years,” said Chair of the Horse Welfare Board Barry Johnson.

“However, it has accelerated in the last few years thanks to funding from the Racing Foundation, among others, who have offered great support to the welfare of racehorses.

“We’re extremely grateful for the help we have received from them as it has allowed a lot of the strategy to be developed and a lot of the programmes in it to be implemented.

“Hopefully we’ll have some exciting results in the future which will lead to better welfare and better outcomes for horses, both when racing and in their aftercare.”

The love of the racehorse, both current and former, has been used in many community engagement initiatives supported by the Racing Foundation over the last decade. The second National Racehorse Week, which has been funded by the Racing Foundation since inception, saw 138 co-ordinated events take place across Britain in September 2022 to connect racehorses with the general public. Over 800 people from schools, charities, urban equestrian centres and community groups got their first experience behind the scenes of racing, supported by charities such as Racing Together and Racing to School who have benefitted from Foundation support.

The Racing Foundation has funded a number of projects in the area of community engagement, with the Pony Racing Association (PRA) being awarded a five-year grant of nearly £1m to develop a formal pathway of activities as a progressive route into the racing industry. This includes improving diversity and inclusion by engaging with youngsters from a wider range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds which is crucial for the survival of the industry according to PRA Chief Executive Clarissa Daly.

“Community engagement is vital for horse racing,” explained Daly.

“Racing has got to reach new audiences and we’ve got to improve our diversity and inclusion. This will also be important in order to satisfy the staffing needs and the future sustainability of the industry.

“The Racing Foundation has enabled us to get into new communities and reach new audiences by bringing not only children to the racecourse, but their families as well.

“By being able to go out into their communities and offer them a pathway through pony racing and into horse racing, we are really opening doors that we couldn’t do without Racing Foundation funding.”

With community engagement vital to attracting the future workforce of British Racing, much work has been funded by the Foundation to support the industry’s people, in particular the recruitment, development and retention of Racing’s current and future workforce.

One charity to benefit in this area is Racing Welfare, who offer professional guidance and practical help to all of racing’s people.

“Racing is nothing without the people who make it work,” said Racing Welfare Chief Executive Dawn Goodfellow.

“The sport’s people are central to absolutely everything. They look after our racecourses, get our horses to the track, look after them on a daily basis and administer our sport.

“What the Racing Foundation has enabled us as Racing Welfare to do, but also I think the sport as a whole, is consider a strategic approach to people: how we look after our people, how we train them and how we retain them.

“I think that’s been vital in the past, but will be ever more vital in the very competitive environment that we’re looking to recruit people.”

The British Racing School, National Horseracing College, Scottish Racing Academy, inner-city riding schools such as the Urban Equestrian Academy and Exercise Physiologist and Sport Nutritionist Dr George Wilson are others to have benefitted from Racing Foundation funding. Dr Wilson helps jockeys and work riders make weight safely using exercise and nutrition. His academic and practical work has been backed by the Racing Foundation for several years.

“We put evidence-based research into practice to help the jockeys make weight better, lose weight safely and avoid dehydration,” said Dr Wilson.

“It’s important for them to understand they can actually eat and still make weight and this is positively changing the weighing room culture.

“It’s been fantastic and we can’t thank the Racing Foundation enough.”

Strategy is central to the Racing Foundation’s approach to funding. This has been evidenced by the recently-announced People Board that has been developed by the Foundation, working alongside the British Horseracing Authority and Horserace Betting Levy Board, to be the single point of accountability for the industry’s workforce strategies.

Newly-appointed Chair of the People Board Neil Hayward and his team will provide a dedicated, skilled and independent resource seeking to address the workforce challenges of both today and tomorrow. They will manage attraction, recruitment, retention and diversity challenges to future-proof the industry workforce.

The final area of focus, new to the Foundation’s strategy since 2021, is environmental sustainability. Following a Sky Sports documentary on racing and climate change and a 2,000 word spread in the Racing Post instigated by the Racing Foundation, an independent assessment of environmental sustainability across British racing and breeding took place.

“What is so great about the report the Racing Foundation funded is that it stimulated so much discussion,” said Ruth Dancer, the White Griffin Consultant responsible for writing the report.

“Environmental sustainability is so important for British racing because we are a sport of the land. We depend on the land, but we can also contribute to the land in so many beneficial ways.

“British horse racing needs to rethink how we operate to build resilience into the future so we can continue working the way we want to work.

“We launched the report in June 2022 at the Horseracing Industry Conference and since then our phone has not stopped ringing from organisations and the supply chain across British horse racing, all keen to understand the risks of their own operation and what they can do to make a difference.

“I certainly think in 2023 we’re going to see a lot in the press about what British racing is doing to address the environment.”

The Horseracing Industry Conference referenced by Dancer saw its fifth annual event take place at Newbury Racecourse in June 2022. Growing by the year, the conference welcomes delegates from across British racing and other global racing jurisdictions to enjoy a day of learning, challenge and debate. The 2022 conference saw delegates hear from speakers including BHA Chair Joe Saumarez Smith alongside other sector leaders and researchers who explored the pertinent challenges the industry currently faces in the fields of gambling, equine welfare and social licence. The date for the 2023 conference will be announced shortly via the Racing Foundation newsletter and social media platforms.

“The Foundation has evolved considerably since its inception,” reflected Chief Executive of the Racing Foundation Rob Hezel.

“Not only has the amount of funding provided to the industry increased, but the Foundation has leveraged the funding to positively influence thinking and create the basis for longer term industry improvement.

“On reflecting on the progress I must recognise the dedication of our current and past Trustees that have voluntarily served the Foundation as well as the amazing contribution of our small team. I cannot thank them enough.

“We are all proud of the Foundation’s evolution. However, like everyone else in the sport, we recognise that the Foundation must continue to evolve and develop if the industry is to effectively confront its challenges and remain sustainable.”

Hear more about the impact the Foundation has had across the industry in the video below, shot at the Racing Foundation’s 10 year anniversary celebration event at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket.