British racing will stage the first strike in its modern history next month, cancelling all fixtures on 10 September in protest at the Treasury’s plan to raise betting tax.
Four meetings due to take place at Carlisle, Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, and Kempton and Lingfield Park in Surrey will be called off, costing the industry an estimated £700,000. The blackout comes just days before the start of the St Leger Festival at Doncaster, one of the sport’s marquee events.
The strike is designed to underline opposition to proposals to increase the tax paid by bookmakers on sports bets from 15 per cent to 21 per cent, bringing it into line with online casino games. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and industry leaders warn that the move would undermine the sport’s financial model, which depends heavily on the separate horseracing betting levy. That levy — a 10 per cent tax on bookmakers’ profits from racing wagers — returned £108 million to the sport in 2024-25.
An economic study commissioned by the BHA estimated the proposed rise would cost the industry £330 million over the next five years and jeopardise 2,752 jobs in the first year alone. Racing is the UK’s second-largest spectator sport, worth £4.1 billion to the economy and supporting 85,000 jobs.
Jim Mullen, chief executive of the Jockey Club, which owns Carlisle and Kempton, warned the move would cause “irreparable damage that threatens a sport the nation is, and should be, proud of”.
Martin Cruddace, chief executive of Arena Racing Company, owner of Lingfield and Uttoxeter, said the plan posed an “existential” threat: “Unlike online casino games, British racing makes an enormous contribution to society and employment, has vastly different rates of gambling-related harm and is not available every ten seconds, 24 hours a day.”
The strike, which will see fixtures rescheduled but not replaced on the day, is intended to send a unified message to government. Trainers, jockeys and owners will join racing leaders and MPs at a Westminster campaign event instead.
Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the BHA, said: “British racing is already in a precarious financial position. Research shows that a tax rise could be catastrophic for the sport and the thousands of jobs that rely on it. We haven’t taken this decision lightly but our message is clear: axe the racing tax and back British racing.”
The Treasury has argued that harmonising betting and gaming duty would “provide tax certainty and increase simplification for remote gambling”.
The strike highlights the sport’s reliance on betting revenue and its vulnerability to shifts in government policy. Racing takes place in Britain on 363 days a year, with cancellations previously limited to bad weather, animal disease outbreaks or the Covid-19 pandemic. September’s action will mark the first time the industry has voluntarily suspended its own programme.
