A report designed to protect a sport beloved by millions

The recommendations were not earth-shattering, but the release of the BHA's review into six fatalities at last season's Cheltenham Festival was clearly an important day for the regulator and the sport as a whole.

The 67-page report is a forensically detailed production outlining 17 evidence-based recommendations – among them mandatory pre-race veterinary checks for all runners and a field size reduction in the Grand Annual – designed to reduce fatalities at the festival.

Yet more striking than any of the recommendations was the impassioned introduction delivered by BHA chief executive Nick Rust, who outlined the political and societal context to the report and the danger to racing if it does not act.