The horse-racing industry is bracing for a £10 million rise in costs after being excluded from new business rate reliefs due to come into force next April — a move that coincides with fears of a fresh tax raid on betting in the upcoming Budget.
According to research by Colliers, racing yards are among several categories that will lose access to the current 40 per cent rates relief, facing average increases of more than £7,000 per yard — equivalent to a 40 per cent rise in total business rate bills across the sector.
The property consultancy estimates that around 300 training yards, covering about 90 per cent of the sector, currently benefit from the relief but will now be left out of the new system, which will apply only to venues “wholly or mainly” used for retail, hospitality, or leisure activities provided to the public.
The National Trainers Federation and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have begun working together to alert members to the changes and lobby for clarity ahead of the November 26 Budget.
The Treasury’s overhaul is part of its wider plan to make the business rates system “fairer and fit for the 21st century”, with permanent lower multipliers for smaller retail, hospitality and leisure premises with rateable values under £500,000.
However, this lower rate will be funded by a higher multiplier for all other commercial properties — including racing yards, laboratories, and large-scale facilities — when the new system takes effect from April 2026.
John Webber, head of business rates at Colliers, warned that many trainers could struggle to absorb the extra burden: “Trainers work on small margins and employ many people on low wages. The rise in employer National Insurance contributions and the national minimum wage has already hit them hard. To add increased business rates on top could push some over the edge.”
He added that while the Treasury’s relief plan was designed to support the high street, its exclusion of the horse-racing and betting industries risked “further damage to struggling local economies.”
The reform will also affect more than 6,000 betting shops, which Colliers estimates could collectively pay an additional £10 million a year in business rates compared to similar-sized retail outlets that qualify for relief.
The betting sector is already under pressure amid speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will raise gambling duties in the Budget later this month — a move that industry bodies have warned could lead to widespread betting shop closures.
“Taxing the betting industry will not help the high street — it will only lead to more empty shops,” Webber said. “And the knock-on effects are significant: less money for bookmakers means less money flowing back into British horseracing.”
A Treasury spokesperson said the new system would make rates fairer overall, introducing lower rates for most retail, hospitality and leisure businesses while applying a higher charge to less than 1 per cent of high-value commercial properties.
“We’re making business rates fairer by introducing permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure from April, funded by a higher rate on the most valuable business properties,” the spokesperson said.
They added that the government remained committed to supporting the UK’s business environment: “We’ve capped corporation tax at 25 per cent — the lowest in the G7 — secured major trade deals with the US, EU and India, and seen interest rates cut five times since the election to help businesses across Britain.”
Treasury sources also stressed that the department “understands horseracing is part of the cultural fabric of the country” and has no plans to change the tax treatment of racecourse betting, which remains exempt from duty.
The horse-racing sector — which supports more than 85,000 jobs and contributes around £4.1 billion annually to the UK economy — now faces dual headwinds from both the rates overhaul and a potential betting levy increase.
Industry leaders warn that without targeted support, smaller yards and rural racing operations could face closures, dealing a further blow to Britain’s standing as a global centre of equine sport.
