The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has today announced the launch of a restructured and redesigned website, britishhorseracing.com

The website redevelopment was carried out in conjunction with design agency Firedog Creative and included consultation across the racing industry and with the users of britishhorseracing.com via an online survey and user testing workshops.

The headline developments of the new site include:

• A cleaner design with a more logical navigation
• Improvements to the user experience, especially in the more coherent linking of data such as non-runners, going and weather reports with racecards, and data such as photo finishes and Stewards reports with results. Users can now reach all of this essential racing data in a much more logical, accessible and user-friendly manner
• New content areas including race entries and horse, jockey and trainer databases
• Fully responsive design for mobile devices
• A new ‘Ask BHA’ section with FAQs on a range of topics
• A streamlined Resource Centre offering a range of information tools for the sport’s participants

Alongside the rebuild of the website, BHA has also today officially introduced a new logo and corporate branding which will be rolled out across the entire organisation in a phased manner. The new branding was also developed by Firedog Creative as part of the website redesign project, ensuring that the rebranding process was cost-efficient. The new logo features more prominently the “BHA” acronym which has now been firmly established, seven years after the formation of the organisation, as well as reflecting British values in the red, white and blue colour scheme.

Longer term, the website will become the vehicle for enhancements in the way that Stewards Reports are written and compiled. As of today, all Stewards Reports (e.g. Stewards enquiries and ‘Why they ran badly’ reports) will be stored in one place on the website and accessible in a downloadable PDF file for each race meeting.

In addition, the launch of the site will mark the first steps towards a system whereby notices relating to Stewards enquiries will become more detailed. This process will be rolled out in a phased approach with minor enhancements as of today, but in time and after further development work will have the objective of providing more information to racegoers and media about Stewards decisions.

Paul Bittar, Chief Executive of BHA, said:

“One of BHA’s key responsibilities is to represent the sport and the industry, both domestically and internationally, and as such I’m delighted that BHA are unveiling a new, upgraded website. Our website is one of our most powerful communication tools and it is essential that it best reflects the work and role of the BHA.

“While improvements have been made to the site as a resource centre for the sport’s participants, the main focus of the redesigned site is the punter. We have sought to ensure that all the essential data and information that a racing fan might need from our site is easily accessible, whether at home or on the move. The punter is also at the heart of the important development whereby more detailed Stewards notices will be produced by our Stipendiary Stewards on raceday.

“I would like to express our thanks to everyone who contributed their time and advice to the project, from across the Racing industry and also the users of britishhorseracing.com. In addition, specific thanks to Kate Struthers who led the project on behalf of BHA, the team of developers here at BHA and the design agency Firedog Creative.”

With any new website launch there are always likely to be teething problems. As such, should readers notice any bugs or issues with the website we would request that they flag them up to BHA by emailing [email protected], or tweeting with hashtag #BHAwebsitefeedback.