BHA Q3 Racing Report Highlights Decrease in Betting Turnover

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has published information about the industry’s performance in the third quarter of the year. The authority’s report outlined a slight decrease in revenue as the pressure on the racing sector continues.

The YTD Betting Turnover Decreased Due to Headwinds

In its report, the BHA said that the industry’s total year-to-date betting turnover up to the end of Q3 2025 experienced a 4.2% year-on-year decrease. The comparison with the same period in 2023 is even more unfavorable, demonstrating a 12.8% decrease.

Since the BHA acknowledged that the number of races run varies from year to year, it said that the average turnover per race is another important measure. Unfortunately, it painted a similar picture, with the YTD results declining by 5.8% compared with 2024 and by 11.4% compared with 2023.

Analyzing ongoing trends, the BHA said that customers are increasingly focused on bigger racedays, which is further highlighted by a 2.7% increase in the average turnover per race at Premier Fixtures. Conversely, the average turnover per race at Core Fixtures experienced an 8.6% drop. The BHA attributed this shift to the impact of affordability checks, which led to fewer high-stakes customers.

There Were Some Positive Developments, Too

Not everything was gloom and doom, however, as the industry experienced a 4.9% rise in race attendances, which increased from 3.9 million to 4.1 million. The average race crowd has experienced a 5.3% growth to 697 at Premium Fixtures, and a 4.4% growth to 107 at Core Fixtures, demonstrating the continued popularity of the sport and the positive impact of The Going Is Good campaign.

Race viewership also increased, with The Cheltenham Festival, for example, reaching its biggest peak audience for four years with a peak audience of 1.8 million. The Derby, meanwhile, experienced its biggest viewership for two years with a peak of 1.3 million.

The BHA added that Premier Fixtures have seen an increase in the average field size at Flat meetings to 10.97 (2024: 10.79), which is the highest figure in recent years. Jump meetings, on the other hand, experienced a slight decline in the average field size to 9.93 (2024: 9.97). However, Core Fixtures have experienced a decrease in the average field size, falling to 8.54 (2024: 8.78) for Flat meetings and 7.63 (2024: 8.52) for Jumps.

Despite certain challenges, the BHA announced that the industry has run almost 100 more races in 2025 so far. As a result of that increase, the total prize money across all meetings increased by GBP 4.7m to GBP 153 million.

In the meantime, the BHA reported a continued decline in the horse population. Since 2022, the industry has been experiencing an annual decrease in horses of roughly 1.5%. The organization is already eyeing a number of solutions, although they will require time.

BHA Opposes the RBGD Plans

In the meantime, the BHA continues to protest against the UK’s various tax hike plans. The authority has been particularly opposed to a proposal to introduce a singular Remote Betting & Gaming Duty (RBGD) for all gaming verticals, arguing that it would hurt the sector.

In a recent open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the industry expressed its concerns, saying that the RBGD could cause “irreparable damage.”