Will Horse Racing Ever Be Banned?

A complete ban on horse racing in Britain or the US looks unlikely any time soon. The sport is legal, regulated and supported by governments that tax the betting on it. But that doesn’t mean nothing changes. Parts of racing have been banned in some places, and pressure over horse welfare keeps reshaping how the sport is run.

Where racing has actually been banned

The clearest examples come from Australia, and they concern jumps racing, not racing as a whole:

• New South Wales banned jumps racing in 1997.
• Western Australia banned it in 1941, and Queensland stopped it in 1903.
• South Australia passed a ban in July 2022, which leaves Victoria as the only Australian state that still holds jumps races.

Flat racing continues in every Australian state. These bans show the most likely shape of future change: the riskiest forms of the sport come under pressure first.

Why a full ban looks unlikely in the UK and US

• It is a large, regulated industry. In Britain the British Horseracing Authority regulates the sport and the Gambling Commission licenses the bookmakers who take bets on it. In the US, thoroughbred racing has had national safety and anti-doping rules under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) since a federal law signed in December 2020.
• Regulators have chosen reform over abolition. After the deaths of 30 horses at Santa Anita in California during the meet that ran from December 2018 to June 2019, California gave its racing board new powers to stop racing at a track. The response was tighter rules, not a ban.
• The safety record is improving. The BHA reports that the British racecourse fatality rate has fallen by about a third over 15 years, to around 0.2% of runners. In the US, The Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database recorded 1.07 fatal injuries per 1,000 starts in 2025, its lowest since records began in 2009.

The pressure for change

Animal welfare campaigners argue that any level of fatal risk is too high for a sport, and object to the whip, to jumps racing and to what happens to horses after racing. Their pressure has had results:

• The Grand National was changed for 2024: the maximum field fell from 40 to 34, the first fence moved closer to the start, a standing start was brought in and the race was moved to an earlier start time. Our Grand National betting guide covers the race as it runs now.
• National anti-doping rules in the US have applied since the year after HISA’s racetrack safety rules came in, run by the independent Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit.
• Aftercare gets more attention than it used to. In Britain, Retraining of Racehorses, set up by the BHA in 2000, supports horses after their racing careers.

For a fuller look at both sides, read is horse racing ethical or cruel.

What could change in future

Based on what has happened so far, the realistic changes are gradual: further limits on jumps racing in some places, more rules on the whip and on medication, and closer scrutiny of what happens to retired horses. A ban on all horse racing in a major racing country would need a big shift in public opinion and in law, and we haven’t seen evidence that one is under way.

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Frequently asked questions

Has any country banned horse racing?

We aren't aware of a major racing country that has banned all horse racing. Some Australian states have banned jumps racing, most recently South Australia in July 2022, while Flat racing continues across Australia.

Is jumps racing banned in Australia?

In most states, yes. New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia have all ended it, leaving Victoria as the only state that still holds jumps races.

What changed in the Grand National?

For 2024 the maximum field was cut from 40 to 34, the first fence was moved closer to the start, a standing start was introduced and the race moved to an earlier start time.