Prize money for most horse races at the "lowest levels of the sport could double" to £7,000 ($8,740) within the next three years "as a result of the recent levy settlement, which will give the sport a boost of at least an extra" £30M ($37.5M) per year from bookmakers, according to Mark Souster of the LONDON TIMES. British Horseracing Authority CEO Nick Rust believes that the sport has "turned a corner" on a number of fronts and that there is "genuine cause for optimism for the future." He expects that such an increase in prize money, "aimed at the hard-pressed grass roots," will attract new owners to the sport. At present, it costs a minimum of £20,000 ($25,000) per year to keep a horse in training and Rust thinks that it is "only fair that efforts are made to improve opportunities courtesy of the extra revenue," three quarters of which is "likely to be earmarked for improved prize money." Rust said, "A key target for us is growth in ownership. If you have a horse in training at the lowest class levels, winning prize money now is about £3,000 ($3,750) to £3,500 ($4,375). We would like to improve the ratio so if a horse won three or four times you might cover your expenses for the year. There is an acceptance there should be investment at the lower and middle tiers. The growth over the past three years has been at the very top end." Last month, the government set the new levy rate that will "come into force" on April 1. It could generate up to £90M ($112.4M) in revenue (LONDON TIMES, 2/4).
