The British Horseracing Authority revealed this week that it is undertaking a situational review into buying and selling practices at British bloodstock sales. The BHA on Thursday provided the following statement to the TDN about the review:
“The matter of practices around the buying and selling of bloodstock was identified by a number of parties during the industry's strategy for growth work in 2014. As part of the current work of racing's tripartite governance structure to refresh the sport's strategy for growth, the BHA Board reviewed integrity and regulatory matters and identified proposed priorities for the next few years. The Board agreed that a situational review should be undertaken given the industry drive for ownership.
It is agreed amongst the sport's leaders that if racing is to grow then we need to ensure that openness, transparency and fair dealing is at the heart of all that we do or we may risk turning away existing and potential investors into the sport. The ownership and purchasing process is no exception to this.
We believe that the majority of individuals involved in the buying of selling of horses will be operating within the bounds of the code of conduct. However, the BHA has received some concerns that there may a small minority who are not. The code of practice has been in place for 13 years now and we are of the view that it is the right time for the sport to engage in a conversation about its sales practices (whether through sales houses or privately) and consider whether there needs to be any change to the regulatory landscape to ensure fair and transparent practices in this area.
To this end, the BHA is currently involved in a pre-consultation with a small number of leaders in this part of our industry which is designed to gather more views which will help shape any review into this topic. We are pleased with the constructive nature of our engagement to date.”
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