The Gentleman Magazine Issue 14 | April 2019 | Page 49
REVISED AND MORE ACCESSIBLE RULES OF RACING TO
BE IMPLEMENTED FROM 1 SEPTEMBER
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has today explained
the reasoning behind the project to re-write of the Rules of
Racing, which is nearing completion, and confirmed further
details about how the re-written Rules will come into force.
The project was undertaken with the aim of ensuring the Rules
are presented in a way which is simple, clear and easy to follow
for the participants who are bound by them as well as the
wider world, and that they are available in a convenient and
accessible format.
Rules site is as fully optimised ahead of the Rules coming into
force on 1 September.
Tim Naylor, Director of Integrity and Regulation at the BHA,
said:
“There has been a move within the wider area of sports
regulation to try and simplify rules as far as possible so
everyone, whether participating or not, can understand them.
First launched in late 2016, the re-write has primarily been
focused on the structure and presentation of the rules rather
than widespread substantive Rule changes. “There was feedback anecdotally for a number of years,
particularly from those bound by the Rules, that they could
be easier to follow which was why the initial project was
undertaken.
It has been worked on in close consultation with participants
through the stakeholder bodies and with independent legal
expertise provided by Northridge Law LLP. “It has been a long and complex piece of work but I’m confident
that the new format of the Rules makes them as clear as they
have ever been.
The newly re-written Rules have been approved by the BHA
Board and will come into force from 1 September 2019. “They will be easy to access digitally and will link in with other
guidance documents and application processes electronically.
This is part of the BHA’s progressive approach to make
regulation more transparent for our participants and the
general public.
They will be available to view via the new Rules website from
early July to ensure users are suitably familiar with the site
and new format. The BHA will hold educational workshops
to assist participants to become used to the new Rules and
how to access them through the website and associated digital
applications.
The BHA are also in the process of creating a cross-industry
working group in the lead up to 1 September in order to take
any initial feedback from users into account and ensure the
“We will provide more information in early July when the new
rules will be available to view regarding any changes to the
substance of the Rules, but the fundamental aim behind the
project was to simplify them and ensure they are structured in
a format which our participants can use easily. "
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