It's the groundbreaking report that aimed to shake up British racing - but just how much did Savill sway BHA plans for the sport?
Bill Barber examines the influence of a group led by the former BHB chairman on proposals for next year's fixture list
![Peter Savill: once one of the country's leading owners](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fprod-media-racingpost%2Fprod%2Fimages%2F169_1008%2Fd6364423ccb8-8030.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Last summer, Peter Savill, the pugnacious former chairman of the BHA's predecessor the BHB, delivered a stark warning about the future of Flat racing.
The sport, it was suggested, was in danger of being reduced "to a position of greatly reduced prestige and prominence".
Savill was heading a group of industry heavyweights who approached the BHA with a series of proposals that would seek to tackle some of racing's most pressing problems: the loss of major owners, a drain of equine talent abroad and falling field sizes. Identifying the sport's top product – premierisation, as it has come to be known – was a key element.
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