BHA pulls plug on initiative scrapping races that attract small fields following trainer backlash

A trial of the removing of small-field races after declarations has been paused indefinitely by the BHA following a backlash from trainers.

The initiative, which involved races of class 4 and below attracting three or fewer runners at the 48-hour declaration stage being cancelled, was brought in as part of the two-year industry-wide trial that included the introduction of Premier racing.

While trainers, via the National Trainers Federation (NTF), had opposed the move from the outset, anger burst out last week following the cancellation of a novice handicap chase at Stratford and the resultant splitting of a novice handicap hurdle into two six-runner divisions to ensure a six-race card.

NTF chief executive Paul Johnson labelled the trial “flawed” and added that it should be considered “a BHA initiative rather than an industry one” after the BHA board had voted to continue with it last November despite a proposal put forward by trainers to bring it to an end.

In a statement on Wednesday, the BHA said the recent dry weather had contributed to a rise in the number of deleted races, with jump racing particularly impacted.

According to BHA statistics, 27.89 per cent of races between April 1 and May 11 were contested by six or fewer runners, the second-highest figure for two decades after 31.18 per cent in 2022. The average field size over jumps for the same period was 7.82 runners, the lowest return since 7.71 in 2022 and down from 9.46 runners last year.

A BHA spokesman said: “The BHA has today taken the decision to put on hold the trial initiative of the short-notice deletion of small-field races. The period of very dry weather in recent weeks has contributed to reduced field sizes and therefore an increase in the number of races which have been deleted, or are at risk of deletion. 

“The decision to put the trial on hold may be kept under review for the remainder of the year, but, unless a decision is made to revisit the policy, the suspension of the trial will remain in place on an ongoing basis.”

The BHA said the trial of removing small-field races was part of efforts to increase the competitiveness of British racing, with racegoers and punters turned off by low-grade races with limited participation.

The authority added that at the time of the NTF proposal in November, only six races had been cancelled in ten months under the initiative. A further ten have been removed since then, with eight in the last two months, all over jumps.

The spokesman said: “We are grateful to all parties, especially owners and trainers, who have contributed their views in relation to this initiative and the others which form the package of trial measures. This feedback, alongside the data, is all being considered as part of the process of devising the 2026 fixture list and race programme policy.”

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