Trainer backs the BHA over its ABP funding stance

Mark Johnston yesterday firmly endorsed British racing's Authorised Betting Policy and said that any short-term financial loss the sport suffers is a price worth paying.

Bookmakers who have not signed up as authorised betting partners, committing themselves to what the BHA calls 'a fair and mutually sustainable funding relationship' by paying a percentage of gross profits on offshore turnover, are barred from sponsorship on a majority of courses.

That threatens support from the likes of Coral, Ladbrokes and William Hill, who currently back many races, but Johnston said: "Let's not worry about that. I'm not saying we don't need all the money we can get, but it is conscience money and driven at races that are entirely in the bookmakers' interest.