BHA Launches Equality Strategy to Address Racing's Consistent Pattern of Racism

Every single participant in a study focused on the Urban Equestrian Academy, a social enterprise connecting people from inner-city and diverse backgrounds with the equestrian world, reported experiencing racism while working in British horse racing. All 20 said race had directly affected their career progression. One told researchers they had thought about suicide "on a few occasions because of the way I was treated."

Those findings, commissioned by the British Horseracing Authority, form the backbone of a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy the BHA launched this week. The initiative, called "All in the Race" by the BHA and widely circulated under that name, sets out an evidence-based framework for action across the next three years. Its stated aims are to strengthen leadership, improve fairness and safety, widen opportunity, and keep the sport competitive and relevant in modern Britain.

The research did not stop at the Urban Equestrian Academy study. A separate survey found that 40% of respondents, 67 people in total, said they had experienced, witnessed, or had reported to them inappropriate or poor behaviour tied to ethnicity or cultural background. Among the specific language reported: workers were called a "dirty refugee" and told they would be "better off if you had been bombed." The BHA's own summary of findings identified "negative experiences, barriers to progression (which are often hidden), inconsistent support, and a lack of trust in reporting systems" as the defining characteristics of what ethnically and culturally diverse staff face in the sport.

The gender data embedded in the strategy is equally stark. Women make up 70% of racing school students and 50% of racing staff, yet hold only 25% of jockey licences. Their share of riding opportunities is even more lopsided: women receive just 9% of rides overall and only 3% in top-tier races.

BHA Chief Executive Brant Dunshea framed the strategy in explicitly commercial as well as moral terms. "British racing is at its best when it is open, welcoming and reflective of the society around us," Dunshea said. "This strategy is about the long-term health and success of our sport. To attract talent, fans and investment, we must ensure that everyone who works in or engages with racing feels safe, respected and able to thrive. It is about everyone in our sport, from racecourses to yards to studs and schools, governing bodies and beyond. We are proud of the progress already made across the industry, but we are also honest about where more work is needed. The research the sport has carried out here and in the past has helped us recognise and accept where there is a problem, and act on it."

The strategy draws from research into the experiences of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and ethnically and culturally diverse employees. It outlines training programs, reporting mechanisms, and prevention and education measures. The BHA described it as "a vision for a sport where everyone feels respected, valued and able to fulfil their potential," while acknowledging its workforce data reflects an industry where "many have positive experiences, but not all."

The three-year framework now puts the BHA on record with specific commitments. Whether the accountability mechanisms, budget allocations, and enforcement tools behind those commitments match the scale of what the research uncovered will determine whether "All in the Race" changes anything for the stable staff, jockeys, and equestrian workers who already told them, in precise and painful detail, what the sport costs them.