Our next and final item on today's agenda is the short debate, and I will invite Llyr Gruffydd to present the short debate on horse-racing.

Well, thank you very much, Llywydd, and I have to say it is a pleasure to bring this short debate before the Senedd today, to take this opportunity to outline and underline the significant contribution that the horse-racing industry makes to Wales not just in sporting terms, but economically too. And I'm very pleased that contributions to this debate will come from Alun Davies, Sam Kurtz, Jack Sargeant and James Evans.

I thought perhaps I'd start by mentioning a little bit about how I came to be interested in the sport, because up until about two or three years ago, I was like a lot of people in this country, in that I wasn't particularly interested and only had a punt on the Grant National every year or so. But that changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. When racing got the green light to resume, behind closed doors, of course, in June 2020, this was the first major sport that returned to our TV screens at a time, of course, when many of us were still living under strict restrictions. As someone who loves watching sport but, as I said, hadn't taken a great deal of interest in horse-racing before then, I did watch the sport at that time and enjoyed doing so. Indeed, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. That period demonstrated to me the power of sport in terms of entertaining, and certainly I discovered horse-racing at that time too. And, indeed, that very difficult time provided me with a new hobby—something that I have enjoyed exploring and learning more about in the time since then.

Now, it would be remiss of me not to highlight in this speech today the support that the Welsh Government has provided, of course, to the Welsh racing industry during the period of the pandemic. The shutdown of racing for a number of months, and then continued restrictions on crowd numbers, of course, that continued intermittently here in Wales afterwards, all of that put considerable financial strain on the industry, with Welsh tracks, of course, collectively sustaining significant losses, and many of you will be aware that two successive or consecutive Welsh Grand Nationals—our premier race of the year, held at Chepstow—having to be run, of course, behind closed doors. Now, fortunately, the survival of many small and medium-sized businesses within the Welsh racing sector was secured by £1.7 million in grant funding given by the Welsh Government to the industry, on top of other funding streams, of course, such as furlough and relief from business rates. The UK Government clearly played its part in that respect as well, and I know that many across the Welsh horse-racing industry are extremely grateful for the support that they received during what was a very difficult time.

As a Member for North Wales, of course, my first trip racing, as a new convert to the sport, was to where else but Bangor-on-Dee racecourse within my region, to which I was actually invited by the British Horseracing Authority, along with some other Members of the Senedd, who I'm glad to see are here this evening. The day started, of course, with a trip to Oliver Greenall racing to visit a racehorse training yard, which is something we're not usually exposed to when we see coverage of training. There are over 500 such vital rural businesses across Britain, 20 here in Wales, and, I have to say, you'd struggle to find more hard-working and dedicated people than stable staff. They're up at the crack of dawn, and they work 365 days a year to make sure, of course, that their horses receive the love and the care that they need in order to be at their best on the track. We then, of course, after that visit, went to the racecourse—an experience I would thoroughly recommend to anyone who has yet to go racing, because if you're looking for a day out with a group of friends, or even a family looking for a family fun race day, there is something for everyone—genuinely, something for everyone.

Now, there were over 160,000 visits to Bangor-on-Dee, Chepstow and Ffos Las in the last non-COVID affected year of 2019. That's a significant figure that struck me as something I hadn't realised, I have to say, but, of course, I know now from chairing the cross party-group on horse-racing here in the Senedd that the industry is particularly keen to work with the Welsh Government on expanding that number, given, of course, the huge potential economic benefits this could bring to all parties involved.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Welsh racing awards, an annual event that recognises the significant achievements by members of the Welsh horse-racing community, both human and equine, and I was thrilled to find out just how successful Welsh-trained or owned horses have been over the past 12 months. We've had major wins at the Cheltenham Festival by the Evan Williams trained Coole Cody, and at Royal Ascot from the David Evans trained Rohaan. Both are positively representing Wales at some of the UK’s biggest sporting events, which are extremely competitive, of course, and involve international competition. Furthermore, David Probert and Sean Bowen are also in the top five jockeys in the country on the flat and over jumps respectively. But, of course, maintaining this success and growing the sector to realise even greater achievements and even more significant economic impacts would also require support from the Government. Now, I’ve been told that horse-racing is the third most followed sport in Wales in terms of attendances, behind football and rugby, but I’m not sure it receives anything like the same recognition in terms of its significance, and certainly in terms of its wider economic contribution.

Now, in racing, prize money acts as the lifeblood of the industry. It helps not only to sustain owners’ critical investment in the industry, on which, I have to say, many don't receive a significant financial return, but it also supports training, businesses and the livelihoods of hundreds of the sport’s participants here in Wales. That also then, of course, drives that broader economic activity through the wider rural economy here in Wales. Owing to a range of factors, including the level of return from betting activity through statutory and commercial channels to the racing industry, racing across Britain faces increasing challenges in achieving competitive levels of prize money. On a measure of prize money per race, British racing now sits behind other major competitor jurisdictions, including Ireland, France, Australia, the United States, Hong Kong and Japan. Now, these competitor jurisdictions are continuing to drive prize money increases, and offering, of course, significant incentives for British owners to relocate their investment. Previous economic modelling has suggested that every 20 racehorses in training deliver around £1 million in direct and indirect economic benefits, so there are real negative economic consequences if there is a contraction in this particular sector.

Now, the UK Government is, by statute, required to review the rate of the horse-race betting levy, currently set at 10 per cent of betting operators' gross profit on British racing. They need to review it by no later than 2024. And this provides a critical opportunity, I believe, for the imbalance in prize money to be rectified. The levy also, of course, provides critical investment in integrity, in training and education and, importantly, in equine welfare. And I'd just like to say a few words about equine welfare, because, through the levy, British racing has spent almost £40 million on funding veterinary science or veterinary education projects aimed at improving the understanding of equine physiology and disease prevention. In March 2019, British racing established a new horse welfare board, independently chaired by Barry Johnson, a former president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and with political representation on it as well from Tracey Crouch MP. The horse welfare board has published a comprehensive, five-year strategic plan called 'A life well lived', which was published in 2020, and its publication represents a landmark moment for British racing, providing, for the first time, a single, overarching welfare strategy, building on the many projects already under way across the industry to raise welfare standards and to improve safety levels for horses. Work is currently under way on 17 of the projects recommended by the horse welfare board, and £3 million-worth of funding has been announced today, as it happens, to extend the horse welfare board's work through to 2025.

But, coming back to the horse-race betting levy, I know the Welsh racing industry would very much appreciate any representations that the Deputy Minister can make to her counterpart at Westminster and at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to expedite the review to support the industry in Wales. And I'd be very happy to follow up with a briefing on this subject, if the Minister should wish. And I can see her nodding, so I'm looking forward to her contribution even more now later on.

We have a real success story here in Wales when it comes to horse-racing, which isn't always recognised, maybe, as it should be, and I firmly believe there are clear benefits and opportunities for the Welsh Government from engaging constructively with racing here in Wales. And to that end, I was delighted to see that the Deputy Minister visited Chepstow in the summer, and I would be even more delighted if she accepted my invitation for her to join me for a day's racing in Bangor-on-Dee so that she can see what racing in north Wales has to offer as well. [Interruption.] Yes. Other Members can come along as well, yes, of course, of course. But I would urge the Minister and her Government to continue to proactively engage with and to support the Welsh racing industry, as there will be clear benefits in so many ways.

So, I thank you once again, Llywydd, for the opportunity to bring this debate forward. I very much look forward to other Members' contributions and to the Minister's response on this vital and successful industry for Wales. Diolch.

I was one of those lucky people to back Norton's Coin at 100:1 in the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Unfortunately, I wasn't in Cheltenham—I was in Bangor—but it's fair to say we had a very good night on the basis of that 100:1 shot, and it helped me fall in love with the sport. I've just booked my ticket for the Tingle Creek meeting in Sandown at the beginning of December, and I will be taking my son to Chepstow for the Welsh National after Christmas. I took him during half term, actually, and, if any of you are looking for tips, I would ask Rhys rather than his father, because he picked three winners and I didn't pick one. But it's a great sport and we've heard from Llyr how the sport is investing in itself to grow and build that success. And what that sport needs in order to grow that success, of course, is that support from Government and from others. We're very lucky. I see Chepstow as my local track in Gwent, and we're very lucky to have the development of Ffos Las across in Carmarthenshire. And I've never visited Bangor-on-Dee, so I'm looking forward to Llyr extending the invitation to us to join him and the Minister, and the Presiding Officer no doubt, in Bangor-on-Dee so we can repeat the success of Norton's Coin and other great horses—Moscow Flyer, Kauto Star, Earth Summit and the rest of it. I'll finish with remembering Dream Alliance, when Dream Alliance was able to win the national in 2009. And, of course, the film of that great adventure won so many awards at the Welsh British Academy Film Awards earlier in the autumn. So, it's a great industry, it's a great success, and it's something that we can all enjoy and celebrate, and I'm sure that the Minister will lead us in those celebrations. Thank you. 

I'm grateful for the Member giving me time in his debate, because it is vitally important that, as someone who grew up riding horses—not as proficiently as a certain Member of Parliament who's taking a vacation in a certain jungle at the moment—I was one of those who was out mucking out horses et cetera, and I understand the industry; it's absolutely alive and well in the rural parts of our constituencies. And it's where, through the love of point-to-point racing, at Lydstep in my constituency—. That's the breeding ground for a lot of these jockeys who go on to be incredibly successful. I know Llyr mentioned in opening one certain Pembrokeshire jockey, Sean Bowen, who I was in school with—he's a few years younger than me and a few stone lighter also—but I'd also pay testament to Alan Johns, a good friend of mine, who is another Fishguard school alumni, so there must be something in the water in Abergwaun that we're delivering so many high-class jockeys.

But it's definitely a case that I don't think we celebrate those who are doing so well in horse-racing as we do, potentially, some other sports starts that we have in Wales. And we have an abundance of those being successful in this field of competition. So, I pay testament to them, pay testament to all those grooms who work hard, and the stable liveries around Wales, making sure that we are punching above our weight when it comes to horse-racing. And I think it's excellent that we've been given an opportunity this evening, this afternoon, to pay testament to that, and I'm grateful to the Member for that. Diolch. 

Unlike my good friend Mr Davies, I did not have the bet in 1990 on the 100:1 winner, as I was yet to be born. But I will say that I do share Alun's connection with his family in terms of my passion for horse-racing. Mine came through my mum's father, Grandad Jim, so I speak with genuine interest in the future of the industry, and I think the best way to secure that future is to continue to have a strong focus on animal welfare. Members will be aware of the current petition going through the Petitions Committee surrounding greyhound racing, and I won't say anything specific about that report, or make any opinions on the committee, but we should note the progress made by the horse-racing industry, in particular, to animal welfare. I won't repeat the points the chair, Llyr Gruffydd, has already said, but I will share my personal opinion, when I say I think there are significant differences between the two industries there. 

But I thank the Member. I see, Llywydd, that we're running close to the time limit there. I thank the Member for bringing this debate forward. I thank him for his chairing of the cross-party group. It's an important industry to Wales, both economically, but also as family fun days, as you suggest, and I'm very much looking forward to being in Bangor-on-Dee with you all. Diolch.

I can see we're over time, so I'll be as short as I can. Horse-racing for me has been a lifelong passion. My mother was an avid horse-rider, my grandmother was an avid horse-rider, and my great grandmother rode horses right until her ninetieth birthday, so I've had a great interest in this sport from a very young age. Unlike other Members, I'm sure, like Jack Sargeant, I don't tend to win a great deal, because I'm quite an unlucky person in that way. But I would just like to say, on Llyr Gruffydd's point, the £3 million that's been invested today in the welfare of our race horses is extremely important, and I know the British Horseracing Authority do a great deal of work recognising how important animal welfare is in this industry. And I think it does need to be highlighted again, that the industry really cares about these race horses; they love them, they care for them, because they are their family. That's what a horse is to a lot of these people.

And I'd just like to pay a personal tribute to Sheila Lewis in my own constituency for the fantastic training she does of race horses, and congratulate her on her most recent win in Cheltenham in October. And thank you very much to the chairman of the horse-racing cross-party group for his fantastic chairing, and also to the Members who make it one of the, I think, best cross-party groups in the Senedd. 

The Deputy Minister to reply to the debate, Dawn Bowden.

Diolch, Llywydd, and thank you, Llyr, and everyone else, actually, who's contributed to this afternoon's short debate. There's no doubt at all that the horse-racing industry contributes significantly to the Welsh economy and provides employment across many different areas, from stable help to hospitality. And as Llyr pointed out at the beginning of his contribution, it's the sport with the third highest rate of spectator attendance after football and rugby, which surprised me, I have to say. An estimated 155,000 individual visits across the three racecourses in 2019, and high-profile events such as the Welsh Grand National in Chepstow will be held this year on 27 December, and I'm sure many of us will look forward to that. It's amongst the jewels in the crown of sporting activities in Wales, and of course it's going to be covered live on tv.

As everybody else seems to have given a few anecdotes about their visits to racecourses and their connections with racing, I suppose I ought to give mine as well. Can I say I absolutely thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Chepstow earlier in the year? They did offer me an invitation to go to the other two racecourses while I was there, and I'm happy to do that at some point. I had the opportunity while I was there to present the winners with prizes, to choose the best turned-out horse that came out from the stables. I even did a live tv interview with Sky Sports, who were there filming the races at the time, and I just— . Sorry, Darren. Of course.

Is it okay, with your indulgence? I know it's not normal in short debates to take an intervention.

Do you know, I haven't done a short debate in a while—I can't remember what's normal. [Laughter.] But, in the spirit of the debate—in the spirit of the debate.

Thank you very much. I'm delighted to hear of all of the interest in horse-racing in the Chamber today. I'm blessed to have in my own constituency, in the community of Towyn, the only harness-racing track in Wales, and I would like to invite you, Deputy Minister, to join me for a night at the races in Towyn—and everybody else in the Chamber—in order that you can come and see the delight that it brings to many people. Will you join me in visiting Towyn's harness-racing track, at Tir Prince in Towyn?

I absolutely would, yes, and presumably you'll be paying for all the bets, Darren.

No. [Laughter.]

But can I also just tell another very, very short anecdote? Those of you who are as old as me will remember the 1992 Grand National. I was in hospital, having my eldest son at the time, and the 1992 Grand National was in April, and the winner was Party Politics, and it was five days before the general election of 1992, and I bet on Party Politics, just because it was the general election, and Party Politics actually won the Grand National that year, and we left hospital with my son, and the first place that my son ever visited was a polling station on the way home. But, anyway, those are my racing anecdotes.

There have been some outstanding recent Welsh successes for jockeys and trainers, both over the jumps and the flat, over the last couple of seasons. Many of these fantastic performances were recognised at the horse-racing awards earlier this month, and you mentioned David Probert, who was the flat racing jockey of the year, having ridden over 150 winners in the past 12 months, and also the national hunt trainer of the year, Evan Williams, who achieved 53 winners and won over £900,000 in prize money in the last year. 

But, of course, horse-racing, like other sports, has faced very challenging times over the last couple of years, and that was why we did create the spectator sport survival fund, to help sports that are reliant on spectators, such as horse-racing, to offset the COVID-related loss of income, and the scheme was well received. Again, as Llyr pointed out, the three Welsh courses received something like £1.7 million of funding from Welsh Government to get them through that period during the pandemic.

But I also know that trainers continue to face challenges, when trying to grow and expand their businesses, with issues such as planning permission and business rates, and I'm aware that the industry is putting together a proposal for the Welsh Government to consider what further support we could provide for trainers, and I very much look forward to seeing that proposal and considering what's in it.

I also think it's fair to say that the industry can only thrive if it has a strong regulatory framework to underpin it, and that is of course the British Horseracing Authority, as the recognised body responsible for the regulation of horse-racing, and I'm aware that the BHA has recently strengthened its governance structures, and hopefully that will place greater emphasis on horse welfare, supporting people in the industry and addressing issues around equality, diversity, inclusion, corporate social responsibility, social licensing and environmental sustainability.

Now, like others have also mentioned, we do of course recognise the issues and the concerns around animal welfare, and that is of course of paramount importance in ensuring the continued success of the industry. Horse-racing in Britain is seen by many as among the world's best regulated animal activities. And, together with the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare, the BHA is a leading signatory of the national equine welfare protocol. And there's at least one BHA veterinary officer on duty at every race meeting, whose responsibility it is to oversee horse welfare and ensure that the standards laid down by the BHA are maintained. Because race horses, like all domestic captive animals, are also afforded protection under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and under this legislation, it is an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal or for an owner or keeper to fail to provide for its welfare needs. The Welsh Government's code of practice for the welfare of equines explains what needs to be done to meet the standards of care the law requires, which includes the equine's environment, behavioural needs, health and welfare. And policy officials work alongside the animal health and welfare framework group on the revision of the codes, with the revised code for horses coming into force in November 2018.

And I know, as again Llyr has pointed out, there are concerns about what the industry is doing to support issues around problem gambling. Because although the UK Government announced its review of the Gambling Act 2005 in December 2020, as we've heard, the progress on publishing that White Paper seems to have stalled. And I'd be more than happy to work with anybody who will press for the UK Government to move on this, because it is a very important piece of work. But can I be absolutely clear that I support the industry in the efforts that it is making to support the minimising of gambling-related harms, with very simple measures, such as siting cash machines away from the betting counters or bookmakers, so that anyone who uses the ATM must cease betting in order to do so. Other measures are aimed at ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way, by ensuring that all operators in attendance have a valid operator's licence issued by the Gambling Commission, and any illegal bookmakers or bookmakers operating improperly are removed from the premises.

So, to conclude, Llywydd, it's by providing these reassurances to members of the public and those on animal welfare grounds and the governance of sport that we will allow horse-racing to continue to grow and flourish in Wales. And with the support of everybody in this Chamber, I'm absolutely certain that that is what will happen. Diolch yn fawr.

Thank you, all. That brings today's proceedings to a close. 

And I'll just ask: who is organising the bus to Bangor-on-Dee and Tir Prince?

We'll have a charabanc outing. 

A charabanc, yes. Diolch yn fawr.

The meeting ended at 18:32.