Racing Foundation Hits £40million Charitable Funding Landmark

The Racing Foundation has today announced that it has surpassed £40million in charitable giving since its establishment in 2012, a milestone that reflects more than a decade of sustained support for the horseracing and Thoroughbred breeding industries.

Set up with an endowment from the government’s sale of the Tote, the aim of the independent grant maker has always been to promote the long-term sustainability of the sport by providing grant funding for charitable causes.

The endowment was invested to create a lasting legacy for British racing, with the Foundation tasked with granting the investment income while preserving the value of the capital. This approach enables the Foundation to balance supporting the industry’s charitable activities with ensuring funds will be available to respond to future needs.

Since inception, the Racing Foundation has awarded over 330 grants, providing funding support for a range of projects, initiatives, resources and research. Its total giving now stands at £41m distributed predominantly across its three key focus areas: Equine Welfare, Racing’s People, and ESG.

The grants have been awarded to 82 recipients, including charities, academic institutions and racing organisations. In addition to the £41m, £7.7m of loan funding has been provided including a large loan to the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) as a contribution towards the racecourse weighing room loan scheme.

Since inception:

• £27m has been invested in Racing’s People. This funding supports the many individuals who make racing and Thoroughbred breeding possible in areas including welfare, training, education, recruitment, retention, and championing projects that create career pathways into racing for individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.
• £8m has been granted in Equine Welfare to improve standards of care for racehorses: from safety and traceability to aftercare and equine science research. This funding has supported a wide range of projects, including injury prevention, veterinary research, and improved racecourse safety, as well as rehoming and retraining programmes, to ensure racehorses have the best possible quality of life before, during and after their racing careers.
• £3m of funding has been provided to projects relating to environmental sustainability, social impact, youth and community engagement, and racing’s social license to operate. This includes the development and early delivery of cross-industry environmental sustainability and social impact strategies, designed to encourage collaboration and shared accountability across racing.
• In addition to this long-term strategic funding, the Foundation has maintained a flexible approach to meet emerging needs of racing. An additional £2m of emergency support was provided to help charities recover from the operational and financial challenges caused by Covid-19. The Foundation also took over £6m of charitable funding commitments from the HBLB to enable them to support the commercial recovery of the sport.

Racing Foundation Chief Executive Tansy Challis said:

“Reaching £40m in charitable giving is a proud milestone for the Racing Foundation and for everyone who has worked alongside us to deliver impact across the sport. We’ve had the privilege of partnering with some amazing charities and organisations to fund the development and delivery of charitable initiatives that aim to create a sustainable future for our sport.

“Our current strategy focuses on building a more collaborative and strategic approach by enabling the industry to become more joined-up in tackling key issues, by supporting charities to become more resilient, and by funding bold initiatives that will shape a thriving, modern future for horseracing.”

Racing Foundation Chair Julia Budd said:

“I would like to pay tribute to our Trustees, past and present, who have provided expertise, wisdom and challenge to the executive team, as they work with our stakeholders and beneficiaries to deliver impact through our funding.

“Despite challenges in recent years, from the pandemic to global financial uncertainty, we have safeguarded the value of the original endowment and provided, on average, £3m in grants each year. This ensures we can continue giving sustainably for years to come – delivering a long-lasting legacy for British racing.”

To learn more about the impact of the Racing Foundation’s funding, you can view their £40m milestone impact document here.