Horserace Betting Levy Board

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) allocation to the new disease surveillance, veterinary science and education programme starting in 2025 is rising to £2.76m (2024/25: £2.32m). The Racing Foundation and the British European Breeders’ Fund (BEBF) are supporting specific projects with an additional £220,000, bringing the total funds available to £2.98m. 

The Board is grateful to the ongoing commitment of all its partner funders – the Racing Foundation, the TBA, the Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust and the BEBF.  Their support underlines the importance that the Industry places on advancing the health and welfare of the Thoroughbred.

For 2025,  the new activity, which is listed in full at the end of this release, includes:

• 3 Major Research Projects       
• 7 Small Research Projects
• 2 Research Scholarships
• 1 Clinical Scholarship
• 2 Post-Doctorate Scholarships

In addition, racehorse owners and the TBA contribute towards the provision of equine infectious disease surveillance. 

HBLB’s Veterinary Advisory Committee (VAC) will continue to manage all ongoing work.

Alan Delmonte, Chief Executive of the Levy Board, said:

"Promoting and supporting veterinary science and education is one of the statutory objectives of the HBLB. The Board’s Veterinary Advisory Committee takes a careful and thorough approach in assessing which applications should be recommended for funding. This year saw a particularly high number of veterinary research applications, and the Board is pleased to have increased funding for 2025 to £2.76 million. The Board also extends its thanks to the industry partner funders, whose involvement contributes to world-class research being conducted in Britain."

 Professor Matthew Allen, Chair of the HBLB’s VAC, said:       

"After a rigorous peer-review process, the Veterinary Advisory Committee was extremely pleased to recommend 17 new projects to the Board for consideration, of which 15 were selected for funding. The 2025/26 programme includes several promising initiatives, particularly in the prevention and management of infectious diseases, exploring age-related diseases, catastrophic injuries, and causes of poor performance. All of these areas of research are vital to fulfilling the HBLB’s statutory responsibilities."

"Communicating the outcomes of funded research effectively – in its broadest sense, the impact of research – is essential, and this year we are placing greater emphasis on improving how real-world impact is reported. We also aim to strengthen collaboration with international grant-awarding bodies, ensuring a more coordinated and productive global effort to benefit the Thoroughbred. We are proud to report that the HBLB has partnered with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Equine Research Foundation, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and Japan Racing Association this year to launch the 1st Translational Conference for Equine Research, which will be held in Hong Kong in December 2025."

"Over the past year, we were pleased to welcome four new members to the Veterinary Advisory Committee—Charlie Smith, Dr Jennifer Hall, Meta Osborne, and Jo Suthers. Each brings a wealth of expertise and will be an asset to the work of the Committee.”

The 2025 application round, for awards commencing in 2026/27, opened in May. As usual, major project applications will be submitted via the HBLB Equine Grants System, while all other grant types will be processed through the HBLB Funding Gateway.

Tansy Challis, Chief Executive of The Racing Foundation, said:

“The Racing Foundation works in partnership with the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industries to address key charitable issues. Our ultimate aim is to help achieve a sustainable future for the sport, with a strong focus on horse welfare, which includes the funding of equine science research in collaboration with the Horserace Betting Levy Board.

As part of our current strategy, we are focusing our investment in research projects on those that have the potential to provide practical benefits to racing, where findings can be effectively disseminated to industry stakeholders, and where impact can be measured and reported. 

Following the 2024 funding round, we are delighted to be co-funding two important projects commencing this year, that are being delivered by the University of Bristol and the RVC.

To date, the Racing Foundation has invested over £1.9 million in a range of equine research projects. By focusing on applied research with demonstrable practical benefits, we aim to enhance the health of our horses, improve public perceptions of the sport, and provide invaluable insights for trainers, breeders and all industry participants."

From Simon Sweeting, Chairman, British EBF:

"To date, the British EBF has directly funded over £1.3million of equine veterinary research projects, in addition to our £42million prize money allocations and we are pleased to be building on that support by fully funding two projects in 2025.  The Trustees selected a study covering Inbreeding depression in Thoroughbreds and methods for non-invasive diagnosis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals. Both subject areas are of importance to the long-term health of the Thoroughbred, and we are delighted to be supporting the aims of the HBLB in this important work."

HBLB Equine Scientific and Education Awards 2025

For further information please contact:

Notes for editors:

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) is a statutory body operating in accordance with the provisions of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 (as amended). Its purpose is to assess and collect monetary contributions from bookmakers via a levy, which it distributes for the improvement of horseracing and breeds of horses, and for the advancement of veterinary science and education.

The outcomes of HBLB-funded veterinary science and education projects are published in peer reviewed scientific journals.

About the Racing Foundation:

In 2012 the Racing Foundation was established to oversee the distribution of funds to charitable causes within the racing and thoroughbred industry following the sale of the Tote. Since inception it has awarded over £39million in grants. Equine welfare, racing’s people and ESG are the key areas of focus in its 2025 – 2027 strategy. The Trustees of the Racing Foundation are Julia Budd (Chair), Linda Bowles (SID), Jim Boyle, Louise Kemble, Alice Page, Rishi Persad and Algy Smith-Maxwell. The British Horseracing Authority, the Thoroughbred Group and Racecourse Association are the three joint Members of the Racing Foundation, which is registered with the Charity Commission as a charity under the law of England and Wales (no. 1145297).  

www.racingfoundation.co.uk 

@RacingGrants

The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association was established in 1917 and remains committed to the long-term future of the British Thoroughbred and the interests of the British breeder. The charity strives to safeguard the health and welfare of the Thoroughbred for the overall improvement of the breed. This includes delivering training and education opportunities to ensure best practice on stud farms, veterinary research to maintain the highest health standards, and the encouragement of diversity within the breed for a stronger, more resilient Thoroughbred. The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (registered as a charitable company in England; company number 07073259, charity number 1134293). 

The Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust was established in 1974 and, since its inception, has made regular donations to a range of worthy causes which focused on bloodstock, medical research and education.    For many years, the Trust has been pleased to support various on-going veterinary research projects through the HBLB’s VAC Programme, which still remain one of its key charitable objectives moving forward.  Gerald Leigh was a prominent owner breeder of racehorses based at Eydon Hall Farm in Northamptonshire.  He established himself as a leading international breeder by developing strong families with a small but select band of broodmares.  On the racecourse he achieved Classic and Group 1 winners throughout the world.  In 1994, his homebred, Barathea won the Breeders’ Cup Mile in a course record and in 1990, Markofdistinction delivered a first Group 1 success for jockey Frankie Dettori in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.  Among Mr Leigh’s commercial successes in the sales ring, his broodmare Korveya sold for a world-record $7 million in 1998.

The British European Breeders’ Fund which is funded by support from stallion owners, has contributed over £42million to domestic racing since 1983. The British EBF is racing's most active sponsor with an annual contribution to prize money is £2 million, covering around 800 Flat and National Hunt races.

In addition to strategic prizemoney support, the British EBF have supported equine veterinary research for nearly 20 years with over £1.4million being allocated to projects of benefit to the Thoroughbred breed.