Peter Savill calls on racing professionals to consider 'collective action' against tracks which fall short on prize-money

Racing professionals must be willing to take "collective action" against racecourses which fail to contribute at least a third of their total racing revenue to prize-money, according to a letter circulated by Peter Savill to members of the newly formed Professional Racing Association (PRA).

Savill, the former chairman of the BHB – the forerunner of the BHA – has been urging trainers to sign up to the PRA, which is pushing for greater funding for prize-money. If the PRA’s aims are achieved, Savill forecasts an annual boost to purses of “£20-30 million”.

Meetings have taken place between the PRA and trainers, with Savill claiming in his letter, a copy of which has been seen by the Racing Post, that “we currently have about 140 members representing around 50% of the horse population”.