For Tom Marquand, taking a day off racing is a “big deal”.
The self-employed jockey has had one day’s rest in seven weeks crossing Europe, maximising earnings.
But all of British horse racing will fall silent on Wednesday for an unprecedented day of strike action.
Shutting down is the sport raising the stakes with the government in the latest battleground over the budget.
There are dire economic warnings if proposals are advanced to harmonise tax on gambling online into a single rate. It would increase the 15% tax paid by bookmakers on racing bets online to the 21% paid by online casinos and games.
The British Horse Racing Authority (BHA) has forecasts claiming more than 2,750 jobs will be at risk in the first year if the policy is pursued – with a £330m revenue hit in five years.
Tom Marquand riding Merchant at Royal Ascot. Pic: Reuters
‘Everything will crumble’
Marquand told Sky News: “If you take away money, all it will do is dilute the funds that are propping up [racing].
“Owners needs to be winning money for races to be able to pay for horses’ upkeep and training costs.
“It’s almost like taking a Jenga block out of the pile and not expecting it to fall down. Inevitably if you take out the base, the rest crumbles.
“And racing is very much an example of that. If the funding goes, everything else crumbles around it because it’s such an important part of the sport.”
The Treasury did not respond to a request for comment as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, prepares to deliver her budget on 26 November.
When racing shuts down on Wednesday – with four scheduled events rescheduled – the sport will converge on Westminster to lobby for the tax hike to be scrapped.
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‘We should be treated differently’
“This is an existential threat for the sport,” Brant Dunshea, the chief executive of the BHA, said at Windsor Racecourse yesterday, justifying the need for special treatment on taxation.
“Racecourses are often the focal point of local towns and communities across the country, as are the training facilities, the studs and breeding facilities across the country.
“So we would see it say that British racing is woven into our national fabric. And for those reasons, for all the social benefits that we bring to the nation, we should be treated differently.”
The Epsom Derby, which took place in July. Pic: Reuters
‘We can’t keep this up’
The Betting and Gambling Council has warned of unnecessary disruption to punters, and complained about how racing reached the decision to call off a day.
But the reality of the racing industry is felt by those up at dawn every day. A world that’s very different from the world of online casinos.
Sarah Guest has risen from stable lass to assistant trainer over three decades and fears increased cost pressures.
“It’s a struggle, especially in the small yards,” she said. “We’re really sort of noticing the hit. The owners are coming to us every day and say, why are we committing to this?
“And if you’re not keeping the owners interested in keeping the horses in training, we can’t keep this up.”
John Berry, a trainer based in Newmarket and former mayor of the market town, has only made a profit once in 31 years. He complained the prize money is “very poor” by international standards with British racing “kept afloat” by international investment.
The King and Queen visit Newmarket earlier this summer. Pic: Reuters
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“It’s been problematic for years,” he said. “The worry is the change that might be about to be brought in by the government.”
That’s why he is behind the BHA’s campaign – if not all the messaging.
“It doesn’t help this phrase ‘Axe the Tax’,” he said. “I can see why they’ve done it because in the era of short attention spans, people like catchy slogans.
“But no one’s looking for tax to be axed. We’re just looking for things to stay as they are, rather than having the tax on betting raised by a significant sum, which would have a large and negative impact on racing’s already strained finances.”
While the government has to balance the books, racing hopes the Treasury does not gamble with their futures.
