The British Horseracing Authority has responsibility for the Fixture List, and for the overall co-ordination of the associated Race Programme within it.

The Authority’s Racing Department is overseen by the Racing Director, and is made up of an eight-strong team, each with a specialist role.

The Fixture List is the culmination of a process overseen by British Horseracing Authority’s Fixtures Allocation Group, which ensures that the List meets the requirements of all of Racing’s key customer groups whilst at the same time maximising the sport’s revenue.

Key considerations when working to assemble the Fixture List include:

• Maximising opportunities for the horse population at all reasonable levels of ability and over all distances throughout the season
• Maintaining the quality of horses in training in the UK, and the competitiveness of racing, by ensuring that horses are catered for broadly in accordance with ability over their entire careers
• Producing a satisfactory product in terms of off-course betting, in order to maximise the Betting Levy
• Providing a Fixture List that caters for the needs of the racegoer, punters, owners, breeders and the media
• Developing a Fixture List that works with the 60 racecourses to consider their turf management and the number of fixtures they can hold
• Considering how the Fixture List can best support the commercial aspirations of racecourses by providing opportunities at times that will encourage attendance growth and greater corporate participation in the sport.

It’s essential to reach a balance in the fixture list that considers all of the above, and listen to all constituents and their often conflicting needs.

The Race Programme is produced in consultation with the Race Planning Committee, on which industry stakeholders are represented. Two specialist bodies, the Flat Racing Committee and the Jump Racing Committee in turn support the Race Planning Committee.

The overall Race Programme is agreed through the close working relationship between British Horseracing Authority’s Racing Department and racecourses. It is designed to fulfill the Board’s objective of maximising competitiveness and providing opportunities that reflect the abilities of the horses in training. In order to do this, the work of the Racing Department is closely linked with that of British Horseracing Authority’s Handicappers.

Race planning involves a strong degree of flexibility, and British Horseracing Authority’s Racing Department is able to programme additional fixtures and races in a short space of time.

British Horseracing Authority also has responsibility for the British Pattern, and seeks appropriate upgrades through its representation on the European Pattern Committee.

Fixture Policy and Planning
When working on the implementation of the Fixture List, the Racing Department has to consider detailed criteria, which includes:

• The maximum number of fixtures that can be run
• The distribution of the fixtures, between racecourses and in relation to the type of races held
• The balance of Flat and Jump races
• The distribution of Evening fixtures
• The number of Saturday and Sunday fixtures
• Identify gaps in the fixture programme
• Analysing the success of or demand for certain types of races
• Measuring the performance of existing race fixtures in terms of the number of runners, entries and ratings for each type of race, to deem whether the fixture was a success
• Available budget to stage fixtures

Race Times
The British Horseracing Authority Racing Department is also responsible for the co-ordination of all race times, which needs to be adaptable at short notice in order to accommodate the needs of broadcasters, race sponsors and racecourses. When compiling race times, the Racing Department has to ensure that all the racing taking place avoids any clashes or overlaps in starting times. The department also has to take into consideration the needs of broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4, who may request that races from one of the meetings they are broadcasting are shown at certain times to fit into their coverage.

The same applies to the dedicated racing channels, Racing UK and At The Races. At The Races also broadcasts Irish racing, and so where possible, the racing department aims to avoid clashes with Irish race start times. All of this aims to ensure that viewers and punters have the opportunity to watch every race un-interrupted.  This also underlines how essential it is for races to start on time; as if one race is delayed it can have a knock-on effect for the rest of the day’s start times. Race times are planned and updated every four months, with updates made in between to accommodate changes to broadcaster’s schedules or racecourse requests.

Fixture Bidding Process
The Racing Department is also responsible for the running of the Fixture Bidding Process. Prior to 2004, no   racecourse in Britain was allowed to race on the same day as another course which was racing within a 50 mile radius. The Office of Fair Trading deemed this a breach of competition law, and this order has been dispensed with.

All fixtures are divided into ‘Racecourse Fixtures’ and ‘British Horseracing Authority Fixtures’.

The Bidding Process focuses on British Horseracing Authority Fixtures, and allows racecourses to competitively bid against each other for a fixture, with the course willing to contribute the most prize money winning the bid. The bidding process is conducted through a bespoke website created by Weatherbys and involves two bidding sessions for each fixture. During the first ‘open’ session, racecourses submit bids in the form of prize money commitment for an individual fixture. During this round of bidding, racecourses can see what other bids they are competing against. The second ‘closed’ session sees the three highest bidders from the first session, plus those within 25% of the highest bid, submit a final, undisclosed amount for the fixture.

The racecourse with the highest bid at the end of the second session is then, subject to Regulatory Inspectorate approval into such things as whether the racecourse has the capacity to maintain a safe racing surface with the extra fixture, is then granted the fixture, with the amount bid going into prize money. It is up to each individual racecourse to decide if they want to race on a day when a neighbouring course is also racing. Some courses choose to take on the competitive angle, whilst some avoid trying to capture a similar geographical crowd, but either way, at this stage it is out of the hands of the Racing Department.

Racecourses can also request to swap and move fixtures with other courses, with the Racing Department overseeing any transfers, ensuring that the best interests of the Fixture List are met.

Statistical Research and Analysis
To ensure that the Fixture List continues to reflect the needs of the racehorse population, the Racing Department assess several statistical areas and research various issues such as analyising different types of races, their success, their field sizes, the role they play for the horse population and the demand for types of races and fixtures from those in the industry.