Commenting on today’s decision by the Levy Board, BHB Chairman, Peter Savill, said:
“”We are staggered that the Government-appointed members of the Levy Board today imposed on racing a Levy Scheme which only tinkered with the original offer they unanimously rejected on 20th October with the call for a substantial increase.
“”£900,000, plus a one off marketing payment with strings attached, is not a substantial increase. The whole racing industry will denounce both the judgement and the system.
“”Beneath the smoke-screen of a claimed £8m lies the fact that this Scheme leaves the racing industry barely better off in real terms than it was in 1997/98. Of the £8 million, £1.4m is dependent on assumed turnover growth and £1.9m is a one-off payment for marketing which will not be absorbed into the levy in future years.
“”We were assured that this process was about the needs of racing and the capacity of the betting industry to pay. In accepting this offer it is hard to see what conclusions the Government-appointed members came to on either count. We certainly were given no explanation.
“”It is clear that the failure to heed the firm views of the BHB’s representatives on the Levy Board prevents this from being seen as Ôa Levy agreement’. The imposition of this Scheme can only result in a further deterioration in the relationship between the racing and betting industries.
“”The Levy mechanism has failed racing yet again and we will be writing to Government to express our deep unhappiness and to call for an immediate review of the process which we have just witnessed. The sooner the Levy system is replaced, the better.””