BRITISH RACING: THE FACTS

The following facts cover all stages of a Thoroughbred’s life. This list contains data that is tracked and reported, averaged numbers over time, or best estimates.

THOROUGHBRED POPULATION

Total:  Annual British Thoroughbred population c. 74,500

• c. 4.500 British foals born  

  
  

• c. 6,000 Irish horses imported 

  
  

• c. 6,500 horses intended for racing

  
  

• c. 14,000 horses in training

  
  

• c. 10,000 horses in the breeding sector  

  
  

• c. 33,500 retired former racehorses

  
  

Notes: 

1. There are estimated to be close to 1 million horses in Great Britain  

   
   

THOROUGHBRED BREEDING

Number of British breeding entities: 2,997

• Estimated Staff: 8,000

  
  

• Foals born 2023:  4,510

  
  

• Number of registered stallions in Britain 2023 : 118

  
  

• Flat: 69

  
  

• Jump: 27

  
  

• Dual: 19

  
  

• Unclassified: 3

  
  

Number of registered broodmares in Britain: 7,705

• Flat: 5,650 (73%)

  
  

• Jump: 1,401 (18%)

  
  

• Dual: 644 (8%) 

  
  

Notes: 

1. Discover all the breeding statistics via the annual Weatherbys Fact Book 2023  

   
   

THE RACING PATHWAY

Work is being undertaken to better track both the numbers and the pathways of horses as they commence training and racing careers, as they retire to stud for breeding, and also to understand the alternative routes taken by the horses who don’t race.

A study of foals born in Britain in 2015 showed that 69% entered licensed training. Further studies to provide a more up to date data set are underway.

Work is also being undertaken to better track both the number of horses that progress from breeding into licensed training, and the ones that don’t.

TRAINING

• Number of licensed British racing trainers: c. 540 

  
  

• Staff: c. 8,000 

  
  

• Horses in training:  c. 14,000 at any one time 

  
  

• Number of individual horses who raced in 2023: 18,630  

  
  

• Stable inspections 2023: 594

  
  

Notes:  

• Monthly horse population reports are published by the British Horseracing Authority Racing statistics | British Horseracing Authority

  
  

INJURIES AND FATAL INJURIES

2023: All racing 

• 10,019 races 

  
  

• 64% flat 36% jumps  

  
  

• 87,619 runners 

  
  

• 18,630 individual horses  

  
  

• 158 fatal injuries  

  
  

• 0.18% fatal injury rate 

  
  

• 0.20% Five-Year Rolling Fatal Injury Rate

  
  

2023: Flat racing 

• 6,366 races 

  
  

• 57,672 runners 

  
  

• 10,142 individual horses* 

  
  

• 46 fatal injuries 

  
  

• 0.08% fatal injury rate 

  
  

• 0.08% Five-Year Rolling Fatal Injury Rate 

  
  

• 0.11% Five-Year Rolling Long Term Injury Rate

  
  

2023: Jump racing 

• 3,653 races 

  
  

• 29,947 runners 

  
  

• 7,722 individual horses 

  
  

• 112 fatal injuries 

  
  

• 0.37% fatal injury rate 

  
  

• 0.42% Five-Year Rolling Fatal Injury Rate 

  
  

• 0.49% Five-Year Rolling Long Term Injury Rate  

  
  

• 2.14% Five-Year Rolling Faller Rate

  
  

Fatal cardiac incidents during racing 2023:  0.03% of all runners

Notes: 

1. In addition to the 10,142 individual flat horses and 7,722 individual jump horses there were 766 horses who competed in both flat and jump races. 

   
   

2. Fatality data includes all horses fatally injured as a direct result of their injuries on raceday or within 48 hours of raceday. 

   
   

3. Figures on fatalities, falls, and long term injuries are published annually by the BHA and can be accessed here Making horseracing safer | British Horseracing Authority   

   
   

4. British racing is currently working to capture full visibility on horses who sustain long-term or fatal injuries away from the racecourse. 

   
   

THE GOING

Fatality rate in Jump races by Going description:

• Heavy: 0.22%

  
  

• Soft: 0.33%

  
  

• Good to Soft: 0.43%

  
  

• Good: 0.51%

  
  

• Good to Firm: 0.58%

  
  

Notes:

1. Data from a 10-year study 2013 – 2023

   
   

THE WHIP

2023 Data 

• Rides: 75,932 

  
  

• Referrals to Whip Review Committee: 688 

  
  

• Offences: 592 

  
  

• Offence rate: 0.78% 

  
  

Notes: 

1. Data is from all rides under new whip rules introduced in 2023 – since 13 Feb 2023 for jump racing and 27 March 2023 for flat racing. 

   
   

2. More detail on the whip and offences can be found here: The whip | British Horseracing Authority 

   
   

EQUINE MEDICATION CONTROL AND ANTI-DOPING

 Samples taken:

Notes: 

1. The vast majority of positive samples are returned due to a perfectly legal substance which had been administered at home having not yet left a horse’s system in time for raceday. In addition, issues such as accidental contamination can result in positive samples. 

   
   

POST RACING

Horses exiting training each year: c. 7,000  

• c. 2,500 permanently retired  

  
  

• c. 2,500 are signed out of the racing database as they are taking time away from racing but which may come back  

  
  

• c. 2,000 go into breeding or are exported   

  
  

Thoroughbred former racehorse population: 33,600  

Thoroughbreds active and identifiable in 2023: 26,919 (80%)

Thoroughbreds affiliated with equestrian groups (March 2024) 

• Retraining of Racehorses: 12,948  

  
  

• British Dressage: 2,982 

  
  

• British Eventing : 2,579 

  
  

• British Showjumping: 149 

  
  

• Point-to-Point: 1,632  

  
  

• Hurlingham Polo Association: 1,152

  
  

Second careers undertaken by former racehorses in 2023: 

• 18% leisure riding

  
  

• 18% hacking

  
  

• 11% dressage

  
  

• 8% eventing

  
  

• 8% showjumping

  
  

• 7% showing

  
  

• 6% hunting

  
  

• 6% field companion

  
  

• 3% polo

  
  

• 3% endurance

  
  

Thoroughbreds supported by RoR’s welfare safety net in 2023, including the Vulnerable Horse Scheme: 54 (0.16% of the estimated retired population)

Notes  

1. The Thoroughbred population was defined by research undertaken by Hartpury University and covers horses bred for racing that are no longer connected to or active in the sport. It includes horses that may never have made it into licenced training.   

   
   

2. Racing’s 2023 Thoroughbred Census identified 26,919 Thoroughbreds in second careers. These horses were bred for the sport but are no longer active within it. Work continues to achieve 100% traceability at a Thoroughbred’s first step out of racing  

   
   

3. Data from 6,000 RoR members shows 77% horses are sourced either privately or direct from the trainer, and 91% are acquired by their new owners without going via a charitable rehoming or commercial retraining operation.

   
   

ABATTOIRS

British racing introduced a rule in January 2022 dictating that all racehorses that run in Great Britain must be signed out of the human and animal food chain, meaning they cannot legally be sold for slaughter to abattoirs, either domestically or internationally.

Since the introduction of these new rules, according to the latest data available to the BHA and Weatherbys, there is no record as yet of any British-trained horse that has raced in Britain being put down at a British abattoir.

The latest data received shows that for 2023 a total of 88 Thoroughbred passports have been returned from British abattoirs to date, 84 of which had been sent from overseas to Britain to be put down.

The four British-based racing Thoroughbreds which existing data shows were sent to abattoirs in 2023 had all ended their racing careers some time ago. Only one had raced in the last four years, and this was prior to the introduction of the new rules in 2022.

Notes: 

1. The figures cited above are the latest data for passport returns from the Weatherbys General Stud Book for horses being put down at British abattoirs during 2023, and are accurate up to and including May 2024. This is the official process followed by abattoirs. There can be a delay in passports being returned and therefore figures may be subject to change.

   
   

2. An animal rights group has reported 175 horses with Weatherbys passports were put down at GB abattoirs in 2023. However, based on our available data, we are not able to verify this figure. It may include some horses who are not bred for racing, or don’t carry racing passports, or other breeds. As part of the reporting process we have requested more data from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to confirm this, and expect to receive this information imminently. We will update our records as soon as any further information is received.

   
   

USEFUL LINKS

• British Racing’s Horse Welfare Strategy: A Life Well Lived | Horse Welfare Board

  
  

• British Horseracing Authority: British Horseracing Authority

  
  

• Fallers and Fatalities: Making Horseracing Safer | BHA

  
  

• Horse Population Report: Racing statistics | BHA

  
  

• The Whip in Racing: The whip | British Horseracing Authority

  
  

• Weatherbys Fact Book: Weatherbys Fact Book | 2023

  
  

• Thoroughbred Breeders Association: The TBA

  
  

• Retraining of Racehorses: Retraining of Racehorses