The following rule changes have been approved at the AGM and adopted to the BHRC Rule Book. Please ensure that you read these changes and are fully informed of all updates:

Alterations:
Definitions
Fallen Horse – a horse that falls while on the racetrack so that either its shoulders and/or quarters have been in contact with the track, or the driver has lost contact and/or control of the horse.
Handicap – a race in which performance, sex or distance allowances are made and which may be run either as heats and final or single races. In heats and final, both shall be raced over the same distance unless otherwise stated in the conditions of entry.
Sire Stakes Committee – The Sire Stakes Committee is a body which will administer the Sire Stakes fund on behalf of the fund subscribers.

C19 – Promoters, having been granted racing date(s), must forward a full list of the officials who will operate at their promotion to the BHRC at least seven days prior to the first fixture of that season. All officials must hold current BHRC certificates of authority to officiate.

D8 – The BHRC Office shall
[g] produce the quarterly Harness Racing Calendar

E7 – The Stewards may impose any fine not exceeding £10,000.

E8 – The Stewards shall have power to require:
[c] that the measurement, conformation, condition and lighting of the course upon which the horses shall race, and additional areas where necessary, shall be in accordance with the requirements of the British Harness Racing Club.
[e] that all horses kept stabled, which are the subject of a British Harness Racing Club licence, whether at a racecourse or the premises of an Owner or Trainer, shall be maintained in good and healthy condition and shall be provided with all facilities and services required to that end. Where the Stewards are not satisfied as to such conditions, they may make such order as they deem fit and may appoint a Veterinary Surgeon to examine and report to them, and may, at their discretion, require that the fees and expenses of any such examination and report shall be borne in whole or in part by the Racecourse Executive concerned, or by the Trainer, or Owner, as the case may be. All licensed persons must have regard of the Horse Animal Welfare Statement published by the British Harness Racing Club.

E21 – The Regional Stewards shall:
[j] In the event of any accident complete a record in the Accident Book and forward a copy to the BHRC.

F2 – The Track Stewards must complete a registration at least once in every three year period and be licensed as such by the BHRC, and must have attended Steward’s Training Seminars when required and have a proven knowledge of racing and this Rulebook.

F16 – At any time a BHRC Council Member, Deputy Regional Steward, Integrity Officer and/or Chief Track Steward (in majority) have the power to order any examination and/or test by a licensed Veterinary Surgeon (including the taking of samples for analysis) of any horse entered for any event or which has run in any event. If having regard to any pre-race examination or test of any horse due to run at a meeting, those responsible deem it necessary or advisable to do so, the Stewards shall withdraw such horse from racing at the meeting.

F23 -
[a] In the event of an accident, it shall be mandatory to hold an enquiry and complete a record in the Accident Book.
[b] Any horse involved in an accident, fall, collision or incident must be examined by a Veterinary Surgeon prior to engagement in any further events on that day.

H1 – Racecourse Executive. The BHRC Stewards hold the Racecourse Executive responsible for the general racing arrangements of the meeting, and to see that the track is properly measured, marked and conforms to current health and safety regulations, with particular attention to double roping (at grass tracks). Security netting should be used in front of spectator areas at grass tracks. The Racecourse Executive must ensure that the track can be enclosed completely in the case of a loose horse and that the Lorry Park and Unloading Area are clearly defined and access is restricted to licensed persons only. At all meetings, other than floodlit meetings, the last race is to be timed to start no later than 10 minutes before sunset.

H5 – Race Programmes – The Racecourse Executive shall arrange for publication of an official race day programme and state therein that such race meeting is held under the rules of the BHRC.

H8 -
[a] Video Facilities – The Racecourse Executive shall ensure Video facilities are provided at every meeting, which may be used by the Judge to determine finishing order and by the Track Stewards in the conduct of any enquiry.
[b] Photo Finish – The Racecourse Executive shall ensure Photo Finish equipment is provided at every race meeting.

H11 – The Start Sheet published to the BHRC website shall be the official publication and thereafter no changes shall be permitted to horses entered in any race, the only exception being that a reserve horse may be entered into a race providing such horse was shown as a reserve on the published Start Sheet. Any publication of Start Sheets on differing platforms will be considered provisional and may be subject to change.
Immediately on receipt of the Start Sheet from the Race Framer the Race Secretary shall:
[a] forward a copy to the BHRC immediately
[b] forward a copy of the Start Sheet to all Owners and Trainers with horses engaged at the forthcoming meeting, listing as a minimum, the runners in each race with their handicap marks, the time each race is to be run and the time the runners are required in the paddock.

H12 – Following a Race meeting the Race Secretary, or other nominated individual, must forward a copy of the full results from that fixture to the BHRC by 10am the next day in the manner prescribed at the time. Failure to do so may result in a fine to the Racecourse Executive.

H22 – The Chief Steward shall:
[d] notify all licensed persons of any penalties imposed upon or against them or their horse/s.

J4 – The owner of any horse entered for a race, which subsequently is withdrawn, shall be liable for the full entry fee if the horse has been published on the official Start Sheet. Should the payment not be made within thirty [30] days of the date of the race having been run the payment shall become a liability to the owner, who shall, together with the horse or horses, be suspended until payment is made in full, providing the track notifies the BHRC in writing.

K5 – The withdrawal of an entered horse must be done by the Owner/Trainer to the Track Secretary at least 48 hours prior to the race date unless accompanied by a Vets Certificate. Failure to withdraw or declare in the time allowed, will mean a penalty will be applied. Withdrawal of an entered horse published on the official Start Sheet does not remove liability under section J4.

L1 – Starter’s Control – Horses shall be deemed to be under the control of the starter at all times when the starter is on the track and he shall have control of the horses from when the horses are directed from the parade to the gate and until he gives the word “go”.

L5 – Horses shall be deemed to be under starter’s orders for a race, once the starter has called them into line when the car is moving.

L9 – Penalties – A fine may be applied to any driver by the Starter or Stewards for:
[l] Starting in the incorrect gate position and/or in advantage of any gate position. The horse will be disqualified.

L16 – Badly Behaved Horse – A badly behaved horse that caused interference may, under order of the Starter, be placed on the outside of the gate. If this action is taken the Stewards and the Public must be informed.

N5 – Supervision of Qualifying Trials
No horse may be eligible to be entered to compete in Qualifying Trials unless:
[d] the horse has been registered in writing with the BHRC as in training for a minimum period of 28 days immediately prior to entry.

N14 – Driving tests should only be taken at regular race meetings. Permission of the Regional Steward is required for driving tests to be completed during qualifying trials held outside of Race Meetings.

Q1. [ii] To be eligible to enter to race ALL horses must:
[g] be registered in writing with the BHRC as in training for a minimum period of 28 days immediately prior to entry.

Q10 – Withdrawn from Rule Book

R9 – Sulkies must be of neat appearance with a properly secured and tight seat. Any protruding objects/articles must have a joining bar for protection.

S23 – In the event any person is involved in an accident on the track a record must be completed in the Accident Book (see Regional Steward) and a copy forwarded to the BHRC. The officials on duty may order such person to submit to a physical examination. Such examination must be completed within thirty days from such request or the person’s licence may be suspended until compliance therewith.

S33 – Any licence holder found guilty of committing an act of cruelty on a horse shall be liable to a fine and/or suspension. The Stewards of the BHRC shall have the authority to order an investigation and a hearing and to impose a penalty for any act of cruelty or neglect of a horse committed by a licence holder whether on or off the track. All licensed persons must have regard of the Horse Animal Welfare Statement published by the British Harness Racing Club.

S40 – All licensed persons must have regard of the Social Media Policy published by the BHRC. Any person found guilty of a breach of section S40 shall be subject to a suspension and/or fine and/or warning off.

W4 – In the event of an Owner being the subject of an enquiry by the British Harness Racing Stewards or the Stewards of a Meeting, the BHRC will not recognise for the purpose of racing the transfer of his/her horses pending the result of the enquiry. Such enquiry must be held within twenty-one (21) days of his receiving notice of the enquiry.

W59 – The trainer is responsible to ensure that at each and every grass track meeting, all horses racing, qualifying and/or working out must wear grass nails. Any horse racing unshod must be notified to the Stewards at time of declaration.

X12 – Guarantee to Conduct Event – The Track will guarantee to the BHRC that said Classic Race will be raced as advertised in said conditions, unless unanimous consent is obtained from owners of eligible horses to transfer or change the date thereof, or unless prevented by an act of God or conditions beyond the control of the Track. After inspection of the track no change of venue is permitted unless authorised by the BHRC.
All tender payments will be due to the BHRC by 1st April in the year of the race. A 50% levy of tender will be withheld by the BHRC for any event tendered for and not staged.

APPENDIX V
BHRC INTEGRITY TESTING REGULATIONS
A BHRC Council Member, Deputy Regional Steward, Integrity Officer and/or Chief Track Steward are empowered (in majority) to order an integrity test on any horse competing.
If the above personnel are unavailable or not in agreement, the sample requested should be obtained and the decision whether to analyse the sample made at a later time.
THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES MUST BE ADHERED TO:
Once selected the horse(s) will be escorted by an official (i.e. Track Steward, Integrity Officer etc) to the appointed place for testing.
The horse may be washed down provided that the escorting official is present at all times.
The horses passport must be produced for identification purposes.
The horse must be scanned for a microchip and identified as the horse named in the passport (and Race Card where appropriate) to the satisfaction of the officials and Veterinary Officer present.
The horse(s) will be held at the appointed place for testing until the sample(s) requested (urine, blood, hair, saliva or other such sample) has been obtained.
Prior to commencement of the testing procedure and before breaking the seal on the testing kit the appointed veterinary officer should be instructed by the official in the presence of the horses handler/person responsible to carry out an examination of the horse paying particular attention to both sides of the neck.
If any abnormality is detected during the examination then it should be brought to the attention of the handler/person responsible and any explanation offered should be noted. Photographic evidence of the abnormal area of the horse and the medication page from the passport should be obtained and the handler/person responsible for the horse should be informed that the matter will be referred to the BHRC.
The appointed Veterinary Officer or official shall obtain the sample(s) as per the instructions given by the BHRC. Blood samples may only be obtained by the Veterinary Officer.
Upon completion of the taking of the sample, the Veterinary Officer shall complete and endorse all paperwork supplied by the BHRC, including the seal of the sample package.
The horses handler/person responsible shall complete and endorse all paperwork supplied, including the seal of the sample package. Such endorsement shall be taken as acknowledgement that he/she is satisfied with the procedure carried out.
The official shall complete and endorse all paperwork supplied, including the seal of the sample package.
Such endorsement shall be taken as acknowledgement that he/she is satisfied with the procedure carried out.
The sample will remain in the custody of the BHRC who will be responsible for ensuring that the sample is safely packaged for transfer to the laboratory as soon as is practical.
The BHRC section of the Integrity Testing Form to be forwarded to the BHRC Office as soon as is practical.
Upon receipt of a positive integrity result notification will be provided as follows:

• Chairman informed of positive result only
• Trainer informed
• of positive result via telephone (where possible)
• of substance in writing only
• Owner informed of positive result only
• BHRC Council members informed of positive result only
• Promoter informed of positive result only
• Notice provided on BHRC website stating the fixture, date of test and class of substance

Additions:
Definitions
Lorry Park & Unloading Area – An area specifically designated for all Horse Boxes and Lorries where horses are to be unloaded. Such area to be clearly defined and entry permitted for licensed persons only.

N5 – Failure to comply with any of the above provisions will incur an automatic administration fee at a minimum of £5 per notification. In addition the horse may not be permitted to compete.

Q1 – Failure to comply with any of the above provisions will incur an automatic administration fee at a minimum of £5 per notification. In addition the owner/trainer may be subject to a fine and/or suspension and the horse may not be permitted to compete.

W57 -
[c] The trainer is responsible for ensuring that every horse wears a properly numbered saddle cloth at all times when present on the track.

The following have been adopted as Thresholds and added to Section Y22:
Boldenone – 0.015 microgram free and conjugated boldenone per millilitre in urine from male horses (other than geldings)
Estranediol in male – 0.045 microgram free and glucuroconjugated 5α-estrange- 3β,17α-diol per millilitre in urine. When, at the screening stage, the free and glucuroconjugated 5α-estrange-3β, 17α-diol exceeds the free and glucuroconjugated 5, 10-estrene-3β, 17α-diol in the urine
Methoxytyramine – 4 micrograms free and conjugated 3-methoxytyramine per millilitre in urine