‘Racing is a British institution – and it’s at risk of extinction’

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Horseracing is more than a day at the races. It’s a major British employer, a driver of local growth, and a source of steady work for tens of thousands of people. Across Britain, the industry supports 85,000 jobs – from stable staff, jockeys and farriers to the caterers, cleaners and drivers who keep race days running. It contributes over £4 billion a year to the UK economy and sustains local businesses in towns and villages from Newton Abbot to Perth.

And like so many of our great British sectors, it depends on small firms, skilled workers and regional supply chains to thrive.

Every year, nearly five million people attend the races, making racing Britain’s second most popular spectator sport. But its real footprint is far wider. The Grand National alone generates £60 million for the Liverpool City Region economy each year, supporting hundreds of local jobs in hospitality, retail and transport. Local hotels fill up, pubs and restaurants stay open later, and small suppliers get the business that keeps them afloat through the quieter months.

That’s what inclusive growth looks like in practice – local money circulating through local economies.

Yet today, the industry is facing one of its toughest challenges in living memory. The Government is proposing to increase the remote betting tax on horseracing from 15 per cent to 21 per cent – the same rate as online casinos. The intention may appear understandable: to raise revenue and tackle gambling harm. But in practice, this move risks sweeping racing into a category in which it simply doesn’t belong, without due consideration of the impact on jobs and local economies.

Independent research suggests a tax increase to 21 per cent would cost the sport £66 million a year and put almost 3,000 jobs at risk in its first year. For smaller courses and training yards, those numbers represent an existential threat.

British racing is already in a precarious financial position. Its key source of funding – the Horserace Betting Levy – is not covering enough of the sport’s costs, and demanding affordability checks are pushing some punters to the black market. A blanket tax increase on top risks being the tipping point for the entire industry.

No one doubts that the money must come from somewhere, and no one disputes the need for sensible regulation. But policy must be proportionate. Treating horseracing like an online casino fails that test.

A people-first industry

For generations, racing has been part of working life in Britain. It provides steady employment, apprenticeships, and routes into skilled work in areas that have lost other industries. Its supply chains stretch from farriers and feed suppliers to local laundries, security firms and transport companies.

These are the kinds of decent, secure jobs Labour has always championed. They are also the kinds of jobs that will be hardest to replace if policy choices make the sport unviable.

When we talk about Labour’s mission for growth – about creating more good jobs and spreading prosperity to every community – this is what it means. Protecting an industry like racing isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about safeguarding livelihoods and sustaining regional economies.

Learning from others

Many other countries already recognise that racing deserves tailored support. Ireland’s government has made targeted investment in bloodstock breeding, rural training and prize money. France has long maintained a fiscal framework that keeps its racing internationally competitive. Australia continues to expand its racing exports, supported by active partnership between government and industry.

Britain still leads the world in the quality of its racing and its horses. But that lead is narrowing. Without policies that recognise the sport’s distinct social and economic value, we risk falling behind competitors who already understand what’s at stake.

Fairness and common sense

Racing doesn’t seek exemption from tax or regulation – only fairness and recognition. Betting on racing is already taxed at 15 per cent, and that increases to 25 per cent when the Horserace Betting Levy is included. It’s a lower-margin, higher-cost product that supports employment, tourism and community life.

In contrast, betting on online slot machines and casinos cannot be said to have the same historical, cultural, and societal significance as horse racing. Racing is something that brings us together – friends, family, colleagues – to enjoy the shared experience of a great day out. Online gaming simply does not, and cannot, have that social and community importance. It does not have the same positive impact that brings joy to millions of people every year.

That’s why this isn’t about opposing tax but about applying it intelligently and preserving the existing status quo. A blanket, one-size-fits-all approach risks undermining one of Britain’s most successful home-grown industries for relatively small fiscal gain – while weakening the very communities’ ministers say they want to support.

A Labour case for backing British racing

Labour has a long tradition of standing up for working people and the sectors that sustain them. From Attlee’s investment in infrastructure to the modern industrial strategy announced this year, Labour governments have always recognised the importance of backing the industries that make Britain strong.

A fair future

Policy made in Whitehall has real consequences for communities like Aintree, Doncaster and Newmarket. A tax rise that treats racing as a vice rather than a vocation will not only cost jobs but erode something deeply British – a sport that combines heritage, skill and opportunity in a way no other does.

Labour’s plan for growth is about building an economy that works for working people. That means recognising what makes Britain great and ensuring it has the conditions to thrive. Racing deserves to be part of that future — not swept aside by policies that fail to see its value.

Because when British racing thrives, so do the people and places that keep it alive.

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