British Horse Racing Stages Westminster Protest

Jockeys Hollie Doyle, Tom Marquand and Oisin Murphy took portion successful a protestation by nan British equine racing manufacture against nan government's projected taxation emergence connected betting connected nan sport.

Leading jockeys, trainers and owners descended connected Westminster to lobby MPs and show their guidance to imaginable changes, which nan British Horseracing Authority (BHA) says would costs millions successful gross and lead to thousands of occupation losses.

The protestation took spot amid a one-day onslaught crossed British equine racing, pinch 4 meetings astatine Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park being rescheduled by nan BHA.

It is nan first clip nan athletics has voluntarily refused to title successful its modern history.

Jockeys Paul O'Brien, Saffie Osborne, Kieran Shoemark, Lilly Pinchin and erstwhile rider Richard Johnson were besides astatine Westminster.

They were each wearing 'Axe The Racing Tax' silks provided by nan BHA, while location was besides a statue of a equine pinch nan aforesaid slogan.

The Treasury is proposing to present a azygous distant gambling tax, which would summation nan 15% taxation complaint paid by bookmakers connected racing and align it pinch online gambling, which is presently taxed astatine 21%.

The BHA says this would person a "destructive impact" connected nan industry, pinch its economical study predicting an estimated £330m nonaccomplishment successful gross and putting 2,752 jobs astatine consequence successful nan first twelvemonth alone.

"Racing has ever been treated otherwise and, therefore, should proceed to beryllium treated otherwise because of nan wider economical effect that British racing has," Louise Norman, main executive of nan Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"This isn't astir a crippled of chance - it is skillful. There is time, effort and publication emotionally, financially crossed nan sport, whether that's done nan trainers, owners, jockeys, unit [and] nan wider impacting relationships that racecourses person pinch communities.

"By unifying that approach, racing will beryllium negatively and unfairly impacted."

The onslaught is taking spot a time earlier nan commencement of nan four-day St Leger show astatine Doncaster Racecourse.