Racing industry offers warm welcome to incoming prime minister Rishi Sunak

British racing reacted positively following Rishi Sunak's appointment as the new leader of the Conservative Party and the next prime minister of the United Kingdom after his sole rival Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the leadership contest on Monday.

Sunak, whose North Yorkshire constituency of Richmond contains Catterick racecourse, will be invited to form a government by King Charles III and will replace Liz Truss following her resignation last week.

"I would like to offer congratulations, on behalf of British racing, to Rishi Sunak on his election as Conservative Party leader," said BHA chief executive Julie Harrington.

"As constituency MP for Catterick racecourse and Middleham since 2015, the incoming prime minister has strongly supported the British racing industry, recognising its international leadership and significant economic contribution.

"These are challenging economic times for the country, including many participants and businesses across British racing, and we will continue to advocate strongly, on a cross-party basis, for policies that will support our industry in the months and years ahead."

BHA chief executive Julie Harrington offered her congratulations to Rishi SunakCredit: Steve Davies

Sunak has close ties to the racing industry. He opened a new stand at Catterick last year and the training centre at Middleham is in his constituency, as are the yards of Karl Burke and Mark Johnston. He was given a tour of the area's stables and gallops at the end of 2020, when John Gosden was present to brief him on racing matters.

Sunak also wrote to successive culture secretaries to express his concern about the possible impact on racing of affordability checks being imposed on bettors as part of the ongoing gambling review.

"The BGC warmly welcomes the appointment of Rishi Sunak," said Michael Dugher chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council. "As the Catterick MP, Rishi has always shown himself to be a strong supporter of British racing, and he knows only too well the symbiotic relationship between the regulated betting industry and racing.

"BGC members contribute £7.7 billion to the UK economy, including £4.5bn in tax, as well as sustaining nearly 120,000 jobs – something our new PM and his team fully understand from their time running the Treasury.

"As well as racing, we also provide vital support to many other sports like lower league football, rugby league, snooker and darts. We stand by ready to help our new prime minister rebuild and grow our economy in every part of the UK.

"We also hope the new administration makes speedy progress on a sensible, proportionate and carefully targeted gambling white paper, one that helps to further drive up standards and protect the vulnerable, while safeguarding jobs, investment and sport – and not spoiling the enjoyment of the overwhelming majority of punters who bet safely and responsibly."

The Labour Party has repeated its calls for a general election this year. Its deputy leader Angela Rayner said on Thursday that Sunak "has no mandate and no idea what working people need".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is 4-11 to become prime minister after the next general election, which is due to take place in January 2025, while Sunak is 7-4, Boris Johnson is 20-1 and Mordaunt is 33-1 generally.

The odds of a general election taking place this year are 16-1, compared to 3-1 in 2023, 1-3 in 2024 and 2-5 in 2024 or later.

Read this next:

Big gamble on two horses for owner with a history goes awry

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.