'You're ruining your life' - the battle to keep women in racing after childbirth

"What have you done that for? You're ruining your life!"

So spoke a trainer to a stable staffer in her early 20s when she told him she was pregnant and planning to give birth. The tale was told on Wednesday evening at the AGM of Women In Racing, which saw the launch of a new initiative called Racing Home, aimed at supporting those who want to have a family and continue to work in the sport.

Naturally enough, it comes with a website, racinghome.org.uk, which offers guidance for both employers and employees in the racing industry as to rights, obligations and best practice. Its content was introduced to trainers in Newmarket recently and got a mixed response; some were pleased to have ready access to such helpful information on a tricky subject while others were apparently "very negative".