MOMENTS after her gallant horse flashed past the Cheltenham winning post, owner Lisa Hales pleaded with Chancellor Rachel Reeves: “Please leave racing alone.”
Her gelding, Wade Out — jointly owned by Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson — had just landed The Sun’s Save Our Bets Novices’ Chase.
And Lisa was quick to lend her voice to our campaign against a gambling tax raid that could put thousands of jobs in racing, betting shops, bingo halls and slot arcades in jeopardy.
The 57-year-old stud farm boss, from Shifnal, Shropshire, said: “There’s a huge community of people that rely on racing, from stable lads and trainers to farriers and farmers.
“I’d ask Rachel Reeves to leave all betting taxes alone.
“Racing is a great asset to Britain.”
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On a day when punters joined the great and the good of racing to back our campaign, The Sun’s Head of Campaigns Caroline Iggulden said it was “an honour” to present the winner’s trophy to Lisa.
She added: “We wanted to bring our Save Our Bets campaign to Cheltenham to send a message to the Chancellor not to damage a sport which brings pleasure to so many.
“Huge tax hikes in the Budget would spell disaster for many sports our readers love — not only racing, but football, rugby and darts.
“Ultimately, it would hit ordinary punters in the pocket and put thousands of betting shops at risk.
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“Don’t do it! Save Our bets!”
The exciting, three-mile race was watched by luminaries including the King’s niece, Olympic equestrian Zara Tindall, and footie heroes Sir Kenny Dalglish and Michael Owen.
Winning jockey and champion rider Sean Bowen said of the potential tax hike: “We don’t need that.
“It’s great the sport is pulling together.
“Hopefully, The Sun’s support will help.”
Sean, 28, was among a stellar line-up of racing personalities who gathered on the steps of the weighing room to back our campaign.
Those waving Save Our Bets banners included legendary trainers Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls, as well as jockeys Harry Cobden, Harry Skelton and Nico de Boinville.
Six-time champion trainer Nicky Henderson, 72, warned of the proposed hike: “It will decimate racing.
“It’s a great sport, but this one tax rise has the ability to knock us out.
“It would be very sad.
“The Sun is a very popular racing paper.
“We’re all grateful to your support for trying to fend off something that could seriously damage racing.”
The Chancellor is pondering a tax raid which would see online sports betting tax revenue — paid by bookies — rise from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.
Online gaming could leap from 21 per cent to 50 per cent. Racing relies on a levy from bookmakers to pay prize money to owners, which is a vital lifeblood for the sport.
Trainer Kim Bailey — who has won Cheltenham’s Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle as well as the Grand National — backed our campaign, saying: “It’s a huge worry.”
A British Horse Racing Authority survey estimates 2,740 jobs would be at risk in the first year following the tax bombshell, with thousands more in jeopardy later.
“If this goes ahead, it’s going to make a very big difference to the number of horses we have in training and therefore the number of people we employ,” Kim added.
“The bookmakers are now threatening that they will close loads of their betting shops if the tax rise goes ahead.
“There’s a little community that goes into these betting shops every day.
“People meet up and have a chat and they have a bet.
“There’s nothing wrong with that and we shouldn’t be removing it.”
A fence at Cheltenham and the winning straight were decorated with Save Our Bets banners at the Cotswolds track, which is part of the fabric of British sport.
Trainer Kim added: “When racing’s been hit hugely and there’s no prize money, will there even be a Cheltenham racecourse?
“Why would anybody invest in racing?
“Why would there be a future in the sport?
“Now that’s a pessimistic look at what might happen, but there’s every possibility things could go hideously wrong in a very short space of time, if we’re not careful.”
Head girl at Kim’s yard, Charly Bond, 32, said of the potential tax hike: “Everyone in racing is already struggling.
“We haven’t really come back since Covid fully.
“This could affect jobs, this could affect wages — we’re having a really hard time as it is.”
Racing pumps £4.1billion into the UK economy every year.
Farrier Alex Halls, 33, who works at Cheltenham on race days and at Kim’s yard, told The Sun the threatened tax hike scares him.
Dad-of-two Alex says shoeing racehorses is his “bread and butter” and he is worried work will dry up if swingeing new duties are introduced,
Backing Save Our Bets, Alex, a farrier for 17 years, added: “My whole life, my children’s future, is built around what I provide for them every single day.
“And if that’s taken away from me, then I feel I’ve let my family down.
“I need to pay the mortgage every month.”
The British Horseracing Authority estimates a £330million loss to the industry over five years if racing is taxed at the proposed 21 per cent rate instead of the current 15.
Clutching a Save Our Bets banner near the finish line, bookie Gregory Hughes, 52, said: “A tax rise will really hit punters and betting shops.
“My message to Rachel Reeves is leave the 15 per cent as it is.
“It works and we’re happy to pay for it.”
Racehorse owner Bo Wilson and 18-year-old daughter Bea also backed The Sun’s Save Our Bets.
Bo’s message to Reeves was, “leave gambling tax alone”, adding: “It will really hit industries and communities that rely on racing.”
Somerset farm workers Madeleine French, 19, and Millie Bennett, 22, warned the tax hike would be a hammer blow to rural communities close to racing yards.
“We need to protect countryside jobs and this tax could do serious damage,” Millie said.
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“I 100 per cent back The Sun’s campaign.”
The sport of kings now nervously awaits the Budget — when many in racing could be a loser, whether they have had a bet or not.
