New era as levy reforms finally come into force

A new era began for British racing last week when the government's levy reforms finally came into law – and the sport's grassroots will be one of the first beneficiaries.

At the start of the week the government announced that sports minister Tracey Crouch had signed the order enacting the new system – which will now capture online betting with offshore operators –ending British racing's long quest to reform its central funding system.

The sport's income from the levy has declined from around £100 million annually in the last decade to less than £50m as a result of the boom in online betting.