WATCH: DRIVING SKILLS IN GALLOPS MAINTENANCE
Go behind the scenes of a new training course launched by racing's Horse Welfare Board to support skills development and best practice sharing around maintaining gallops at racing yards.
In 2025 British racing's Horse Welfare Board launched new specialist training to increase skills and knowledge around the maintenance of gallops at training facilities.
Gallops are a critical part of the training environment with their condition directly impacting both the performance and welfare of racehorses. Developed in partnership with the world-renowned STRI Group and Jockey Club Estates, and funded by the Racing Foundation, the course was developed to provide foundation level structured training in relation to surface management, drainage, materials and maintenance techniques balanced with the realities of practical experience.
The core objective of the course is to help ensure that training surfaces remain safe and consistent for the sport’s horses. This work contributes to racing's commitment to reduce avoidable injury risks, improving horse welfare outcomes, and promoting a more sustainable approach to the management of racing’s training infrastructure.
Representatives from 28 racing yards, and all of the British Horse Racing Authority's stable inspectorate team, have attended the training to date with hugely positive feedback received. In the video hear from both attendees and the key people involved in delivering this latest safety initiative for the sport.
The course is part of a body of work led by the Horse Welfare Board on Ground and Going with multiple projects ongoing focused on the horse, on the racecourse, and training environments.