Horserace Betting Levy Board

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) has budgeted to contribute £77.13m to prize money in 2026, a 6% increase on 2025.

The uplift from £72.715m is almost all accounted for by £4.11m in new initiatives for 2026 in support of two complementary areas as proposed in a submission from Racing: increasing prize money for the extensive programme of Flat and Jump Developmental Races, and targeting prize money at upper levels to aid the retention of high-quality horses in Britain.

There is also an increase of £300,000 in existing schemes, taking support for those to £73.018m against the comparable £72.715m initially budgeted for 2025.

The uplift for existing schemes comprises £260,000 to the Great British Bonus Scheme, including £200,000 for the specific extension of the Elite Mares Scheme and £60,000 previously agreed by the Board for the extension of the wider scheme, along with £40,000 to the Winter Jump Fund.

The increased funding has been made possible by Levy income of £109m in 2024/25, the highest figure since the reform of the Levy collection remit in April 2017, and HBLB continuing to hold an appropriate level of reserves.

A series of targets and measurement criteria for the new investment will be agreed between HBLB and BHA.

New Initiatives for 2026

HBLB has approved £4.11m towards the following new initiatives in 2026: Developmental Races (£2.5m for Flat and Jump), Elite Global Group 1 Strategy (£0.4m for Flat), Point-to-Point Bonus Scheme (£0.25m for Jump) and Increase in Flat Black Type values (£0.2m). There is a further £0.76m for Jump racing initiatives, details of which will be announced in due course.

The Developmental Races initiative (£2.5m) will directly increase prize money of Novice and Maiden races on the Flat and over Jumps via the existing Ratecard Plus mechanism. It aims to bring prize money for these race types into line with Ireland, incentivising ownership in Britain.

The Elite Global Group 1 Strategy (£0.4m) comprises additional funding of £100,000 per race to the July Cup at Newmarket, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and International Stakes at York, to help grow their appeal to both domestic and international participants.

The Point-to-Point Bonus Scheme will comprise 15 Maiden races for 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds (host venues chosen by the Point-to-Point Authority). Winners of these races will qualify for a bonus when they win their first development race over hurdles or fences under Rules during the next two core Jump seasons. The bonus payments will be £25,000 for a British-bred horse and £15,000 for a horse bred elsewhere.

HBLB will provide an estimated extra £0.2m in funding to support an uplift in minimum prize values in Flat Black Type races. The total value of this activity will be £1.8m, with racecourses and owners contributing £1.0m and supplementary entry fees expected to provide the balance of £600,000.

Full details of all the new initiatives can be found here.

The overall planned split of HBLB funding between Flat and Jump will be 61/39, reflecting the share of betting turnover generated by code in 2024.

Alan Delmonte, Chief Executive of HBLB, said:

“Given recent Levy yields and HBLB’s financial position, the Board is able to provide significant additional sums for prize money next year. Racing’s submission on behalf of the sport’s constituent organisations proposed funding for a number of targeted areas. These were races in which horses begin their careers, Pattern races and a wider focus on the number of high-quality horses racing in Britain. The Board was pleased to see the commitment of the sport to a longer-term strategy in these priority areas.”

Notes

1. The Board agreed the 2026 contribution following consideration of a joint proposal submitted by Racing organisations (BHA, Thoroughbred Group and RCA) and then considering 2024/25 Levy yield and the latest expenditure and income data for the 2025/26 year.
2. For 2025, HBLB initially budgeted to contribute around £72.7m to prize money, comprising £59.95m Ratecard Plus, £3.85m Incremental Prize Money, £4.655m Great British Bonus, £0.75m Sunday Appearance Scheme, £1.2m Divided Race Fund, £1.34m Winter Jump Fund and £0.97m to Programme Protection Payments.  
3. For 2026, HBLB has budgeted to contribute around £77.128m to prize money, including £60.67m Ratecard Plus, £4.05m Incremental Prize Money, £4.915m Great British Bonus, £1.3m Divided Race Fund, £0.7m Sunday Appearance Scheme, £1.38m Winter Jump Fund. Budgeted new initiatives in 2026 include £2.5m Development Races, £0.4m Elite Global Group 1 Strategy, £0.25m Point-to-Point Bonus Scheme, £0.2m Increase in Flat black type values and £0.76m for Jump racing initiatives.
4. The main component of the prize money budget is the Ratecard Plus mechanism (£60.67m), which was introduced in 2022. Under this mechanism, the sum that a racecourse receives from HBLB for each race is linked directly to the racecourse’s own contribution to that race. HBLB pays a proportion of the Minimum Value of a race and then a percentage of any additional Executive Contribution provided by the racecourse, up to a specified level.
5. The rate card allocation to prize money is intended to ensure an overall total HBLB funding of 61% to Flat racing and 39% to Jump in accordance with the turnover generated by each code in 2024.
6. The Incremental Prize Money scheme has been increased slightly to £4.05m (2025: £3.85m) in the expectation of more qualifying races in 2026. This represents a significant provision of support to lower-class races and will be administered via a per-race payment. The Sunday Appearance Scheme (£0.7m) has been reduced by £0.05m in line with take-up rates. These two areas of spend comprise £4.75m (2025: £4.6m).
7. The Great British Bonus Scheme will receive £4.915m, increased from £4.655m in 2025, while the Divided Race Fund will be budgeted at £1.3m (2025: £1.2m) in the expectation of an increase in divisions in 2026.
8. A slightly increased sum of £1.38m has been budgeted for the Winter Jump Fund, paid as a contribution to prize money at certain January to March Jump fixtures.
9. £2.7m of the budgeted spend for new initiatives in 2026 will be processed through the existing Ratecard Plus mechanism, this being £2.5m for Development Races and £0.2m for Flat Black Type Races.
10. The Elite Global Group 1 budget is a new prize money scheme of £0.4m, with £100,000 per race to support the total prize funds of the July Cup, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Sussex Stakes and International Stakes.
11. The Point-to-Point scheme bonuses (of £25,000 or £15,000) will be paid to the owner of the qualifying horse at the time it wins the development hurdle or chase.

For further information please contact Rob Bailey, Grants and Communications Officer, at rob.bailey@hblb.org.uk.