Note of caution as Levy Board set to maintain spending levels for early 2020

Racecourses and horsemen have been given some financial certainty for the first four months of 2020 with the news that the Levy Board is to maintain prize-money expenditure at levels of 2019.

However, the board warned the decision had been taken "with caution" in light of the shock decline in levy income experienced earlier this year.

Last autumn the Levy Board announced the allocation of £85 million of expenditure for 2019, more than £58m going to prize-money, and a further £6.5m of prize-money funding was found in March to fill the hole in racecourse coffers expected to be caused by falling media rights income.