by Anton Johan
In what only highlights the decline in horseracing in the United Kingdom, the British Horseracing Authority announced that lack of funds has forced the group to cut 10% of the race fixtures next season.
The governing body said that all in all, 150 fixtures would be suspended from the 2011 fixture list, which will be published next month.
The list's publication is two months late as a result of the British Horseracing Authority's dilemma regarding the future of the races.
The group was adamant that the only way these races could be reinstated was if sufficient funding was derived from private sources, including the Horsemen's Group, which represent horse owners and jockeys.
The British Horseracing Authority said that a sharp fall in betting levies was the reason behind the move to scrap race fixtures.
According to the group, the levy fell a third over a period of 2 years.
Only GBP 70 million in funding will be provided this year, which needs to cover prize money and salaries for jockeys, horse trainers and stable hands.
The levy is a sum of money imposed on UK betting groups whereby they need to give a certain percentage of their profits to the racing industry in return for the right to offer odds on the races.
However, more and more UK betting groups have recently taken their businesses offshore, and are therefore not bound by the statutory horseracing levy.
The scrapping of 150 race fixtures is not the end, however.
"Once the number of fixtures is set, we can then begin to look at minimum prize money values and the race programme, though this itself will be a further challenge with the current forecast levy yield of GBP 70 million inadequate and unstable," said the racing director for BHA, Ruth Quinn.
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