11. Short Debate: Horse-racing: An economic and sporting asset for Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:23 pm on 16 November 2022.

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Photo of James Evans James Evans Conservative 6:23, 16 November 2022

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.