Racecourse Association CEO says prize-money allegations are entirely false

Before anything else I want to congratulate the amazing team at Ascot for staging a royal meeting that had every bit of the drama and excitement we have come to expect despite the difficult circumstances. I would also like to congratulate everyone involved in delivering behind-closed-doors racing so far across the UK.

In light of this and all the good work of the last three weeks, the board of the Racecourse Association was particularly surprised and disappointed to receive a letter from the Horsemen’s Group on June 5, just five days after the successful resumption of racing, making various accusations against the RCA and its members. What was equally disappointing was that a copy of the letter, marked ‘Strictly Private and Confidential’ was subsequently passed to the Racing Post, ensuring that its contents would be widely circulated.

For the record, we consider the allegations and claims made in the letter to be entirely false and without merit and we have replied to the Horsemen’s Group to make these points in the strongest terms. Our reply will not be passed to the Racing Post or any other publication, by us at least, but we could not let the ­allegations made in its letter pass without comment.