Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the horseracing sector.

The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing makes to British sporting culture and its particular importance to the British rural economy. Horseracing is the second biggest sport in the UK in terms of attendance and according to its governing body, the British Horseracing Authority, racing is worth over £4 billion to the economy in direct, indirect, and associated expenditure every year.

Government reforms to the Horserace Betting Levy in 2017 resulted in Levy income almost doubling to £83 million in 2018/19, and racecourses have also accessed £21.5 million of support from the Sports Survival Package through a loan to the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB).