Leading figures and experts in the horse racing industry have joined forces to develop a five-point plan which they hope will help secure the future of the industry and improve it.
The Newmarket Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding Industry Forum (NTRBIF) has produced an 80-page blueprint for a “new era” for the sport and the Suffolk town.
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Newmarket Case Papers are written by trainers, breeders, vets, stable staff, auctioneers, hauliers and local businesses.
The plan will be implemented over the next 10 to 15 years and calls on local and national policymakers to “realize the potential of Newmarket’s global status” and help the industry succeed.
The Newmarket Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding Industry Forum was established to ensure the success and growth of the racing industry over the next decade [PA Media]
Amy Starkey, program director of the Jockey Club and head of NTRBIF, which runs Newmarket racecourse, said Newmarket’s development and racing history had reached a “critical point”.
“This blueprint for the future is both an action plan and a call for policymakers to recognize the value of the sport and support it,” she said.
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“By working with partners, we not only hope to protect and enhance Newmarket, but see it thrive for generations to come.”
Nationally, horse racing is the UK’s second most economically important sport after football, generating £4 billion for the national economy.
Meanwhile, locally, the town’s prosperity depends heavily on the success of the industry, with one in three jobs linked to the sport in some way.
The industry is seen by many as the heart of horseracing, generating hundreds of millions of pounds into the local economy every year.
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“Smart planning and innovation”
The report comes amid a decline in tourist numbers, fewer thoroughbred foals being born and a lack of affordable housing, according to NTRBIF.
The forum hopes to halt these declines through “smarter planning” to ensure the welfare and safety of horses and “better opportunities for innovation”.
It also wants to establish “global standards for horse welfare”, invest in the racing workforce and realize the historic racing industry’s “full potential as a tourist destination”.
Newmarket champion trainer John Gosden said the town had a “unique interaction” with the racing and breeding industries.
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He said: “It’s important that they continue to coexist, side by side, which is why the welfare of the community, horses and industry must be firmly at the forefront when decisions are made about the town’s future opportunities and growth.”
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