New plan for 'most economically significant sport' after football

Leading figures and experts in the horse racing industry have joined forces to devise a five-point plan, which they hope will help secure the sector's future 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.

The Case for Newmarket document has been compiled by trainers, breeders, vets, stable staff, auctioneers, transporters and local businesses.

The plan will be actioned over the next 10 to 15 years and calls on local and national decision-makers to "realise the potential of Newmarket's global status" and help the industry succeed.

Amy Starkey, project director at The Jockey Club, which runs Newmarket Racecourse, and lead of the NTRBIF, said the development of Newmarket and the history of horse racing had reached a "crucial point".

"This blueprint for the future is both a plan of action and a call to policymakers to recognise the value of the sport and support it," she said.

"By working with partners, we hope not only to protect and enhance Newmarket, but to see it flourish and thrive for the benefit of future generations."

Nationally, horse racing is the UK's second most economically significant sport, next to football, and generates £4bn for the national economy.

Locally, meanwhile, the prosperity of the town heavily depends on the success of the industry, with one in three of all jobs linked to the sport in some way.

Considered by many as the heart of horse racing, the industry generates hundreds of millions of pounds for the local economy each year.

The report comes at a time of decreased visitor numbers, a reduction of thoroughbred foals being born, and a lack of affordable homes, according to the NTRBIF.

The forum wants to arrest these declines with "smarter planning" to ensure the welfare and safety of horses and "better opportunities for innovation".

It also wants to establish a "global standard for equine welfare", invest in the racing workforce and realise the historical horse racing industry's "full potential as a visitor destination".

John Gosden, a Newmarket champion trainer, said there was a "unique interaction" between the town and the horse racing and breeding industry.

"It's important that they continue to co-exist, side-by-side, which is why making sure decisions about the future opportunities and growth in the town are made with the welfare of the community, the horse and the industry firmly front of mind," he said.

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