The British Horseracing Board (BHB) has this week issued a comprehensive rebuttal of the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) Rule 14 notice, branding its three-year investigation as “superficial in the extreme”.
Believing that the OFT has failed to grasp the complexity of the British racing scene as a whole — overlooking important aspects such as breeding, training and racehorse ownership — BHB chief executive Greg Nichols warns that the 200-page report delivered in April condenses the sport to little more than a racing and betting opportunity.
“If the OFT has its way and completely unravels the current system of governance and administration, the implications would be disastrous.
“Courses will close, jobs will be lost, national hunt racing will be almost wiped out, overseas investment in our sport will be lost and the quality of racing will decline.
“This is not in the interests of the millions of consumers who love and follow racing,” he says.
| Read the full story in this week’s Horse & Hound (11 September), or click here to subscribe and enjoy Horse & Hound delivered to your door every week. |
