Premierisation

BHA Announces 170 'Premier' Race Days With £3.8m Extra Funding The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has released the 2024 fixture list for British racing which, it claims "includes significant customer-focused innovations designed to deliver a more competitive, engaging and exciting racing product". The major change in next year's programme includes the introduction of a two-year trial of 170 'Premier' race days, 89 of which will be staged on a Saturday afternoon. The move has received a mixed response from within the industry and involves a window during Premier afternoons being restricted...

On December 3, 1995, the G1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle was won by the Aidan O'Brien-trained Thats My Man (Ire). It is unconfirmed, but those may well have been the words uttered by John Magnier when he decided to appoint O'Brien to uphold the good reputation of his surname at Ballydoyle. This he has done with aplomb. From that December day at Fairyhouse until Sunday at the Curragh, A P O'Brien has been the name printed alongside 400 Group or Grade 1 winners. From his roots in National Hunt, he...