nothing matters more to us

At Ayr Racecourse, nothing matters more to us than caring for Horses and Jockeys.

We believe that horses have the right to a decent, fulfilling life and we take every possible step to minimise the risk of Horses/Jockeys receiving an injury whilst here with us. However, regrettably there are occasions when something goes wrong and the horse and jockey part company.

Like all racecourses in Great Britain, Ayr Racecourse is licensed and regulated by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

The BHA sets and polices the standards for Equine facilities and Veterinary care at all Racecourses in Britain. The BHA also provides their own Veterinary Officer at each meeting to ensure strict standards for racecourses - over-seeing the number of Veterinary Surgeons on duty, the stabling and Veterinary facilities are being met.

At Ayr Racecourse, we employ first class Veterinary Surgeons and deploy them around the track, parade ring and stable yard to ensure that should any horse need Veterinary assistance, a Vet will be on the scene within seconds of an incident.

Their first priority is to make a diagnosis of any injury that has been sustained. To provide a calm environment to treat the horse, members of the Groundstaff team will erect Green screens around any horse that needs attention. The same applies to injured riders, when screens are used to ensure that their treatment can be done in privacy. As soon as the assessment of the injury has been made, a horse ambulance will be called to the scene and will transport the horse back to the stable yard or to the local Equine Hospital, where further treatment can be undertaken.

We are committed to minimising the risks and to dealing quickly with any incident that does occur.

Horse racing in Britain also has its own charity. Retraining of Racehorses (ROR) is British Horseracing's official charity for the welfare of horses who have retired from racing. The Roles of Retraining of Racehorses (ROR) are:

• To raise funds from within the Racing Industry to help support the charitable retraining and rehoming of former racehorses
• To help provide facilities for the care, retraining and rehoming of former racehorses
• To promote the adaptability of racehorses to other equestrian activities
• To run a well established programme of competition sponsorship, and clinics to educate and improve riders handling former racehorses

Their overall goal is to achieve a balance between the number of horses leaving Racing and the number of enthusiastic, and suitable, new homes.