In sensational scenes not witnessed in more than a century, British horse racing is to go on strike in a protest against the government’s planned tax hike.
On September 10, all racing scheduled to take place on British soil will be cancelled, with tracks at Kempton, Carlisle, Lingfield and Uttoxeter to keep their doors closed.
It’s a move that will cost the sport an estimated £700,000, but officials believe it’s the only way to raise awareness of the issue facing racing in the months ahead.
Serious Consequences
Although not yet absolutely confirmed, it’s a rather poorly kept secret that the government will be hiking the tax paid by sports betting firms in their next budget.
There’s two possible scenarios: ministers will ‘harmonise’ the amount of tax paid on profits by bookmakers, which is currently set at 15%, with the 21% paid by other sector operators, such as online casinos, that offer games of chance.
However, a second possible outcome of the Treasury’s review is that both sports betting outfits and remote gambling operators will both face a rise, which could be as high as 25%.
Either outcome will have a catastrophic impact on racing, with a loss of £330 million in five years even if the ‘better’ scenario plays out. Stakeholders are arguing that racing wagers should not be treated the same as games of chance; many of which have an algorithm which means most players will lose money in their next session.
Racing also contributes around £4 billion a year to the UK economy, while providing more than 85,000 jobs – some of which will be under threat if the tax increase goes ahead.
On Wednesday 10 September, British racing will voluntarily refuse to race for the first time in its modern history.
Read more about why we are taking this extraordinary step: https://t.co/rVJTQ6JZsF#AxeTheRacingTax pic.twitter.com/p5Rc5bHFUO
— British Horseracing Authority (@BHAHorseracing) August 17, 2025
And so the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) sat down with representatives from the Jockey Club and Arena Racing Company, which operate most of the UK’s leading racecourses, to thrash out the details of industrial action.
“We have decided to take the unprecedented decision to cancel our planned racing fixtures on 10th September to highlight to Government the serious consequences of the Treasury’s tax proposals which threaten the very future of our sport,” said the BHA’s Brant Dunshea.
“This is the first time that British Racing has chosen not to race due to Government proposals. We haven’t taken this decision lightly but in doing so we are urging the Government to rethink this tax proposal to protect the future of our sport.”
All of the fixtures cancelled have been rescheduled for new dates in September.
Racing In Jeopardy
For more than 60 years, sports betting and casinos have been subjected to a different tax regime. That’s because casino games have guaranteed profit margins thanks to the house edge of games like roulette and blackjack; something which has been strengthened in the digital age with online slots, in which the Return to Player (RTP) rate ensures that, theoretically, most players will lose and casinos will profit.
Bookmakers don’t have that luxury, since their revenue is determined by unpredictable sporting results, and so it has been agreed for more than six decades that the two sectors should be taxed differently.
But not, it seems, for much longer.
“The government believes that, given the common features across remote forms of gambling, there is no longer a strong rationale to maintain this historical distinction,” reads a consultation paper into the ‘tax treatment’ of gambling, which closed back in May.
If bookmakers are to be taxed more heavily, they would have less money available to spend on marketing – a key source of revenue for racing, which firms sponsoring racecards or entire meetings.
The reduction in revenue will also impact upon levy payments, with less funding in the pot, which could affect the amount of prize money offered to winning owners and trainers… discouraging them from the sport.
⚠️ British racing supports 85,000 jobs across Great Britain – from stable staff and trainers to pub owners and taxi drivers in racing towns.
This tax raid threatens entire communities.
Protect the people behind the sport. Click to sign the petition to #AxeTheRacingTax ⬇️
— British Horseracing Authority (@BHAHorseracing) August 12, 2025
The former champion trainer, Nicky Henderson, spoke out in support of the strike action.
“I am not necessarily a person who is in favour of using strikes as a tool, but the message has got to get across that this tax could be crippling,” he said.
Instead of racing on September 10, key figures in the sport will instead descend on Westminster, highlighting the threat posed by tax hikes – all while publicising the BHA’s #AxeTheRacingTax campaign.
“If the chancellor delivers this tax bombshell at the autumn budget, not only will jobs be lost but the future of Britain’s second-largest spectator sport will be in jeopardy,” the BHA’s Brant Dunshea reported.