'These proposals risk sending a rocket to the core of what makes British racing tick'

On her website, culture secretary Lucy Frazer proudly describes her rural south-east Cambridgeshire constituency as one of the country's most important for horseracing. 

Bordering Newmarket, the area is home to several major breeding operations, including the National Stud as well as the July course and training yards, but the future for the many racing businesses here is uncertain. That is because the UK government's plans for gambling regulation, notably the formal implementation of affordability checks, threaten to decimate British racing's already perilous finances.

The sport estimates that it stands to lose up to £50 million a year as a result of the controversial checks, which will be the subject of an important parliamentary debate at Westminster Hall on Monday. Any decrease in revenue will have far-reaching consequences for an industry that employs tens of thousands of people and will be felt most keenly in constituencies such as this one.

Despite the regulatory headwinds buffeting the sport, it is hard not to feel some sense of optimism watching the newborn foals at the National Stud, including the first by the stud's most famous resident Stradivarius. Their futures are still ahead of them but there is no escaping the fact that by the time they reach the track the industry could be in a very different place to the one it is in now. 

"Racing is a sport but there's a whole industry underpinning it and everything we do here at the National Stud, from the time foals are born, is laying the foundations," says National Stud chief executive Anna Kerr. 

"I don't think there's always a broader awareness of the full racing ecosystem. Breeding numbers are contracting year on year. We're already seeing an impact in this area but if affordability checks go ahead as proposed then we would see an additional hit at the heart of racing's ecosystem.

"What is absolutely crucial is ensuring we don’t lose sight of the horse in all of this. Thoroughbreds need to be looked after and cared for in a certain way. It all costs money and if racing’s funding is going to take a hit then it’s paramount that the welfare of the thoroughbred, which is one of a number of areas in the sport that our country has a great reputation for internationally, is not compromised.

"You need the right solution, rather than a sticking plaster that could cause damage to an industry that's so important and so ingrained in British culture. You can't throw out the baby with the bathwater. British racing is an industry with so many benefits, it’s the home of the thoroughbred and these proposals risk sending a rocket to the core of what makes it all tick."

Two of the major draws of British racing are its history and ability to produce high-quality bloodstock. However, its reputation as a world leader can never be taken for granted and if the returns on the track lag even further behind other jurisdictions due to the impact of affordability checks, owners and breeders will increasingly look elsewhere.

"Having had the opportunity to travel around the world, you realise how well acknowledged British racing is," says Sophie Able, Newmarket racecourses and international director at the Jockey Club. 

"We're still looked up to globally, from equine welfare and breeding to the racing we deliver. A big part of that is prize-money and currently we're not as competitive as we need to be on that internationally. We need to give those owners and trainers from other nations a reason to bring their horses here. We're at risk of reducing that opportunity, which would then mean British racing is no longer a major player globally.

National Stud chief executive Anna Kerr (left) and Sophie Able, Newmarket racecourses and international director

"We understand that checks need to be in place but the proposed route for that will have long-term, damaging consequences to an industry that is worth billions to the UK economy. 

"It will significantly impact employment levels, particularly in rural communities such as this, as well as British racing's position internationally and the opportunity to attract investors from abroad, be that through racing or other means. We're a sport that is deeply passionate about what we deliver and we want to be able to grow it. All of that will be put at risk if these proposals go through in their current form."

While nearby Newmarket is a historic hub for trainers, Frazer's constituency is mostly populated by studs, including the likes of Juddmonte's Banstead Manor and Darley's Dalham Hall. It might be easy to assume every farm belongs to a major operation or mega-rich foreign investor but that is not the case and 30 minutes up the road from the National Stud sits Pantile Stud, owned by local businessman Colin Murfitt. 

The 75-year-old hit the jackpot when he bought Galicuix for just 8,000gns in 2013, less than a year after she had produced the future 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace winner Galileo Gold. Since then, the stud has recorded some big sales results with her offspring, including with a son of Kingman who sold for 2.7 million guineas in 2020, so it is surprising to hear Murfitt characterise the stud as more of a hobby than a business.

"We've been lucky with a few sales but there's no profit in running a stud," says Murfitt, whose farm houses his own small band of broodmares alongside those belonging to outside owners. "This place doesn't make money. It's more of a hobby, and an expensive one. If you want a stud, you have to work it yourself."

Murfitt disagrees with the prospect of people being asked to hand over personal financial information to prove they can afford to bet at a certain level, and adds: "My father had a bet every day of his life, a shilling each-way, but he worked and that was his pastime. Nobody should tell me how to spend my money. Everybody has a right to spend it how they want and it should have nothing to do with the government."

Colin Murfitt and Bo Hicks-Little at Pantile Stud in Soham

Ideally, most of the foals born here would remain in Britain to race but for some owner-breeders the numbers no longer add up and any further hit to prize-money could push them to send more of their horses abroad. 

"One of our owners tends to sell all of his yearlings to France now but he'd love to keep them here," says Bo Hicks-Little, who has managed the Soham stud since its creation. "British racing will always have the prestige and everybody would love to support it but it all comes back to prize-money. As it stands, a lot of owners are cutting back on their mares – nobody has increased their number of mares.

"I just hope all the foals I deliver this season will have a chance to go to the races in 2026 because prize-money has increased, so our lovely broodmare owners are rewarded for putting so much time, patience and money into providing the industry with the horses to race and my family who follow our foals will be able to pop a bet on them because they want to, without anybody telling them otherwise."

'If I were 20 years younger we'd sell up and move' 

Sarah Humphrey, who won her first Grade 1 with stable star Nickle Back this month, is based at Yen Hall Farm, a few miles south of Newmarket near the village of West Wratting. The trainer is concerned about the knock-on effect affordability checks could have for her owners, whose enjoyment is already threatened by the paltry returns on the track, without the added prospect of not being able to back their runners.

"Quite a few of our owners enjoy a bet," she says. "If their horse is going to the races, they might put a small bet on. These are well-respected members of the community and the minute they have to show their bank statements, you've lost them.

"They're at that stage in life, like a lot of big owners, where they rightly ask why they should have to provide information. It seems to be targeting a lot of the wrong people. Some have said it would detract from the ownership experience if they couldn't bet on them and their enjoyment is already threatened by poor returns in British racing."

Humphrey's son William rides in the US, where prize-money is much less of an issue than in Britain, and she adds: "I've been over to the US to visit him in the last few years and if I were 20 years younger we'd sell up and move. It would be sad but increasingly it doesn't add up here. The owners in Britain are just not appreciated enough and the knock-on effects of these proposals could be simply catastrophic.

Trainer Sarah Humphrey with her stable star Nickle Back

"There's a genuine concern for individuals going the wrong way but on the other hand when you have a proposal that requires people to disclose private financial information, you have to recognise that's intrusive and is a restriction on their personal liberty. That is in addition to the proposals being a significant threat to the sport's finances.

"As well as being a much-loved sport, racing employs a vast number of people and makes a significant contribution to the economy. Any proposal restricting personal liberty has to be reasonable, proportionate and strike a balance between the effective reduction of the perceived ill and curtailment of personal liberty. I believe the proposals as they are at the moment are a blunt instrument that misses the target."

Frazer's constituency is based around Ely, once home to Oliver Cromwell, who tried to stamp out games of chance in England following the Civil War. There are two betting shops in the cathedral city and one punter studying the form in the William Hill shop, Jason, expressed similar sentiments around affordability checks to the many racing and betting enthusiasts who have contacted the Racing Post.

The 44-year-old, who describes himself as a racing aficionado and will make his annual trip to next month's Cheltenham Festival, said: "I get the reason behind doing more to fight problem gambling but it feels like overreach from the government. It's madness and it seems like people are being dragged in to something that is actually intended to target a select few. 

"It's hard enough to get a bet on as it is without these measures being introduced. I would never provide personal information and it is easy to see how more people will be put off betting if they're asked for it. It's worrying for me personally because this is clearly going to have an impact on the long-term health of racing."

It is that potential long-term damage that most concerns many of those on the ground in Frazer's constituency, who are anxious about the severe ramifications the government's proposals could have on an industry they have dedicated their lives to. Beyond the bare facts and figures, forecasts and projections, it is the human cost they most wish to convey to those in power.

Read more:

'Please, please, carefully consider the damage you are going to do to the racing industry' - Middleham's plea to Rishi Sunak 

BHA plans to get Labour on board after criticism of failure to forge links with party 

Affordability checks: what your MP needs to know ahead of the big debate on February 26 

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