A year of diverse and productive activity is recorded in the British Horseracing Boar?_x0019_s 2000 Annual Report, published at the Boar?_x0019_s Annual General Meeting on 14th June 2001.
The Report chronicles:
The development of the Future Funding Plan for British Racing and the creation of a “Shadow” Tote Racing Trust, following the announcement by the Home Secretary in March 2000 of Government’s decisions to abolish the Levy Board and to transfer the Tote to Racing
BHB’s submission to the Gambling Review Body, based on the twin principles of enhanced consumer protection and greater customer choice. A key feature is the proposal that betting be permitted in pubs and clubs
Racing’s stringent disinfection precautions and procedures introduced in the light of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease, which were widely sought after and copied
The announcement of the restructuring of General Betting Duty as a tax on bookmakers’ gross profits, for which BHB had pressed
The High Court judgment in favour of BHB against the William Hill Organization in respect of the latter’s unlicensed use on the internet of BHB’s data
Changes in the BHB Executive structure, which included the appointment of Chris Reynolds as Managing Director and Tristram Ricketts’s assumption of the role of Secretary-General
The establishing of the charitable organisation Rehabilitation of Racehorses, to raise and allocate funds for the rehabilitation of retired racehorses
Record prize money in 2000 of over £71m, up 3.8% on 1999
The creation of the BHB Sunday Racing Review Group, whose recommendations were subsequently endorsed by the BHB Board, following a programme of 63 Sunday fixtures, increased from 36 in 1999 as part of the commitment to customer-friendly racing
Further advances in the key areas of ownership, racegoing and bloodstock marketing as a result of initiatives by the BHB Marketing Department
The Racing and Betting Marketing Group’s development of the Discover Racing marketing campaign, to be launched in July 2001
Continued progress by BHTB in a series of areas of Industry Training, including measures undertaken in the light of the recommendations of the Stable Staff Resources Study Group
The Report contains the Board’s Summarised Financial Statements for 2000, which show a rise in BHB copyright income of £437,000, of which £246,000 was accounted for by the increased number of licences granted for the use of BHB’s data on internet sites.
The Report includes a statement by BHB’s Chairman, Peter Savill, and reviews by Chris Reynolds and Tristram Ricketts, while other sections record the work of the Race Planning, Marketing and Finance Departments. Reports on the British Horseracing Training Board and the launch of Rehabilitation of Racehorses are also featured.
A number of BHB’s formal Aims, attached, have been revised to reflect the Board’s strategic decisions and in the light of other key developments.
The Board is once again publishing a short Summary Report which, in the interests of accountability and communication with the Industry, will be distributed to all active racehorse owners, trainers, jockeys, breeders and stable staff.
For further information, please contact Alan Delmonte, BHB Communications Manager, on 020 7343 3318
