BHA and Aintree adjust veterinary protocols for Randox Grand National

The cost of making an initial entry for the Randox Grand National will be reduced by £150 due to the potentially increased cost to connections of carrying out the new veterinary protocols introduced on Friday.

As in previous years, trainers with entries must provide the BHA with information about any treatment, procedures and medication given to their horses in the months before the race, alongside videos of them trotting up.

The information will now be uploaded to the digital platform Equine MediRecord and following dialogue between the BHA, trainer and stable veterinarian, the horse's suitability for the marathon contest will be assessed.

The process will begin after entries close on February 7. Entries cost £950 and, as in previous years, pre-race checks for every horse will be undertaken on the morning of the race.

"The BHA works closely with our racecourses, participants, Horse Welfare Board and others to continually improve the sport's safety record and ensure we are taking every reasonable step to reduce avoidable risk," said James Given, BHA director of equine health and welfare.

"The enhanced protocols build on the thorough pre-race veterinary procedures already in place, enabling us to engage with connections at a much earlier stage to identify, discuss and seek to address any potential matters well in advance of raceday."

Tote broadens international reach with launch of access to US racing pools

The Tote, Britain's largest pool-betting company, allowed bets to be placed on the Pegasus World Cup last week in the first step to granting customers new access to US racing.

The initial launch made Saturday's pool for the Grade 1 meeting at Florida available to punters in Britain, where a total of $43 million was wagered across the card.

Tote customers could place bets on a US Grade 1 for the first time on SaturdayCredit: Mike Ehrmann

The move marks the initial stage in a phased approach to bringing daily US racing to Tote customers, which will begin by allowing access to win, place, Exacta and Trifecta pools for races broadcast on Sky Sports Racing.

Chief executive of the UK Tote Group Alex Frost said: "With pool betting being the main source of liquidity for US horseracing, this is a timely and important development for our customers, and the first time regular North American racing will be offered as a Tote product in the UK and Ireland on a daily basis.

"We remain committed to ensuring the reach of racing product continues to expand for our customers, and this is a further step to ensure UK and Irish Tote customers can bet into the biggest pools across the world."

The Tote will blend directly into various US pools to abide by the rules of each host track, which vary from course to course.

While Superfecta and Daily doubles are among the pools the Tote hope to bring out next, they do not intend to provide a Placepot option for any meeting bar the Breeders' Cup.

Fatality rates remain static in 2022 as BHA figures released

The five-year trend, the metric by which the BHA measures fatality rates in the sport, remained static at 0.21 per cent in 2022.

While the 2022 figure dropped to 0.2 per cent from 0.24 per cent in 2021 – and 0.41 per cent over jumps compared to 0.49 per cent the previous year – the five-year average is preferred as it removes most of the data fluctuation caused by using a single year's data. It shows the five-year jumps average remained at 0.43 per cent.

James Given, the BHA's director of health and welfare, said: "We will never as a sport rest when it comes to improving our safety record. We are determined to drive constant improvement and to make reasoned, well-researched and evidence-based changes which further reduce risk.

"The cross-industry Horse Welfare Board will continue its focus on safety in 2023, including the investment of the £3m grant from the Racing Foundation and further funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) to assist in the ongoing delivery of the recommendations from the sport's 'A Life Well Lived' welfare strategy.

"I am grateful not only to the Horse Welfare Board, but to everyone across the sport who works tirelessly to improve the safety and welfare of our horses, including the teams at the BHA."

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