Newcastle United: MP denies rowing back on Saudi criticism after accepting £5k freebies Sport Business Newcastle MPs have been urged to stop accepting hospitality and gifts from Newcastle United amid concerns it has softened their criticism of the club’s Saudi owners. Dame Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle Central and West, was a vociferous critic of the Saudi regime before in recent years taking tickets and hospitality from the club. [...]
Ascot quits Racecourse Association as Jockey Club sets ultimatum Sport Business Ascot chiefs have quit the Racecourse Association after the industry body failed to resolve “structural governance concerns” to its satisfaction. The Jockey Club, Ascot, Goodwood, Newbury and York racecourses wrote to the RCA to demand changes earlier this year. The Jockey Club has given the RCA more time to deliver reforms but Ascot has served [...]
Horse racing came together to fight tax hikes. Now it must unite again Sport Business The Jockey Club’s chief executive’s recent rallying cry to British horse racing was bang on, writes Ed Warner. All successful sports have tentpole events, the occasions that attract attention well beyond hardcore fanbases and which drive profits that may (although not always) provide financial scaffolding for its lesser players and promoters. The Cheltenham Festival is [...]
Turf good, grassroots bad: Budget spares horse racing but divides sport November 26, 2025 Horse racing chiefs have welcomed the Chancellor’s decision to afford it an exemption from major increases in gambling taxes announced in today’s Budget. While tax on remote gaming will jump to 40 per cent from April and remote sports betting from 15 to 25 per cent in 2027, duty on horse racing wagers has been [...]
Axe The Racing Tax: British Horseracing Authority launches petition July 28, 2025 The British Horseracing Authority has called on the public to sign a petition urging the Government to “Axe The Racing Tax” and save the sport from a £330m hit. It comes as the BHA publishes independent research which estimates that the proposed tax increase would cost racing £66m a year and instantly jeopardise almost 3,000 [...]
Oisin Murphy: Champion Jockey charged with drink-driving June 26, 2025 Champion jockey Oisin Murphy has been charged with drink-driving after crashing his Mercedes into a tree in April. It is alleged that Murphy, 29, was over the prescribed alcohol limit and failed to cooperate with police when asked to give a preliminary test at the scene. The Irishman, who rode five winners at Royal Ascot [...]
BHA cyber attack: British Horseracing Authority forced to close office June 10, 2025 The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) insists that the UK’s schedule of meets will not be affected after hackers launched a cyber attack on the sport’s governing body. BHA staff have been asked to work from home or remotely after the attack forced the organisation to temporarily shut its London head office, according to reports. It [...]
Ahead of the Game: Man United cuts could be copied by other clubs December 30, 2024 Manchester United’s controversial move to slash the funding it provides to its charitable foundation as part of cost-cutting measures introduced by Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be followed by other Premier League clubs. The Manchester United Foundation are set to be the latest victims of Ratcliffe’s drive to cut costs at Old Trafford, with Sky News [...]