'It's quite an alarming stat' - NTF president calls for more incentives for owners as number of top-quality jumps horses in Britain falls by 14.2 per cent

The BHA has placed reversing a decline in the population of top-quality jumps horses in training in Britain “at the top of the issues that we are looking for ways to address” after figures showed the number of runners rated 130 or more had dropped by 14.2 per cent in the last nine months.

In a recent blog, the BHA updated the performance of the sport against 12 targets set out as part of the two-year Premier racing trial.

Among the objectives by the end of 2024 is to increase the number of Flat horses rated 85 or higher by five per cent, and the number of jumps horses rated 130 or more by 2.5 per cent. The intention would be for these increases to be replicated next year.

However, while there has been a 4.4 per cent increase in the number of 85-plus Flat horses, the number of higher-grade jumps horses has plummeted. At the end of October, there were only 584 horses that had raced and achieved a rating of 130.

While the BHA pointed to ground conditions being a factor, trainer Nick Alexander, president of the National Trainers Federation, said there needed to be a more fundamental review of the programme for horses and incentives for owners to arrest the fall.

He said: “It’s quite an alarming stat. We have to start by having a programme that rewards having better horses than lower grade ones.

“The Thoroughbred Group should be pressing for a clearly scaled prize-money programme with a 50 per cent uplift per class. Obviously this is simplistic, but we must create a straightforward, aspirational system that rewards better horses. 

“At the moment people are incentivised to make their horses worse. We need a programme that’s aspirational and there should be a root and branch approach to it from the bottom.”

There has been some encouraging signs for British racing, according to the BHA, with aims to improve prize-money and average field sizes, a reduction in the number of odds-on favourites and limiting the number of races clashing all on track with the objectives set out.

However, average attendances have dropped by 0.5 per cent on Saturdays and crowds at Premier racedays have fallen by a total of 2.9 per cent, while betting turnover on the sport has continued to struggle.

This year's Grand National at Aintree started earlier than in previous yearsCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Major festivals have been particularly impacted with a drop in turnover of 12.4 per cent, with the BHA in part blaming clashes with the Euro 2024 football tournament in the summer, but also “competitiveness issues” at the Cheltenham Festival and moving the start time of the Grand National to 4pm from 5.15pm.

Average betting turnover for Premier fixtures was down 3.9 per cent, while the average turnover at core fixtures had dropped by 5.3 per cent in the period to the end of last month. 

Turnover had been better on Saturdays when the protected window between 2-4pm had been in place, with ten per cent more bets placed compared to when the protected period was not in force. The BHA said the data, “clearly illustrates the better spreading out of races across the day is having a positive impact on betting activity on Saturdays”.

Data produced by the Premier racing trial is set to be a key factor in forming the 2026 fixture list, for which parties are set to begin talks in the coming weeks. 

Julian Richmond-Watson, chairman of the Thoroughbred Group, said: “It’s encouraging to see that the number of highly rated Flat horses is holding up, but the concerns are that foal crops are dropping. As such, I think it’s important when we come to look at the 2026 fixture list that we approach it reflecting the likely drop in the number of horses in the system. 

“The commercial partnerships are something I would encourage everyone to work together on. With betting turnover falling we know the cake is no longer growing, so we have to have a fair way to share it rather than squabbling over what we can all take out of something that’s decreasing.”

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