The Daily Star joined striking jockeys as the historic protest came as four scheduled meetings – at Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park – were scrapped
Meg Jorsh and Kate Nelson
09:38, 11 Sep 2025Updated 09:38, 11 Sep 2025
Jockeys go on strike at Parliament Square yesterday (September 10)(Image: Jeremy Selwyn)
Horseracing bosses, jockeys and trainers descended on Westminster as the sport staged its first ever strike.
The historic protest came as four scheduled meetings – at Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park – were scrapped ahead of the ‘Axe the Racing Tax’ lobby event.
Top jockeys Hollie Doyle, Tom Marquand and Oisin Murphy were among the riders who ditched the racecourse for the day.
British Horseracing Authority boss Brant Dunshea, said: “We’re here at Parliament Square. It’s amazing, we’ve got participants from all over the country.
“We’ve had groups of jockeys in racing silks supporting our cause.
Model race horse with the statement ‘Axe the racing tax’ is displayed outside the Houses of Parliament(Image: Getty Images)
“A message needs to be given loud and clear that we say no to the racing tax hike.”
Tory MP Louie French, who was also at the protest, said the raid would “hammer horseracing” and do “significant damage to the sport that we all love”.
Horseracing bigwigs later piled into the QEII conference centre to lobby MPs and try to convince them to axe the plans.
Treasury chiefs want to bring online betting duties into one single rate tax band meaning a 15% levy paid by bookmakers on racing would align with online games of chance – currently 21%.
The BHA warned the move would put 2,752 jobs at risk in the first year, and its chair Lord Allen branded it an “existential threat for our sport”.
But the government denied the move is a tax grab and insisted it is bringing the “treatment of online betting in line with other forms of online gambling to cut down bureaucracy.”
Trainer William Haggas said he is “alarmed” by the proposals and warned they could be “utterly devastating” for communities built around the sport, for instance Newmarket.
Horseracing fan Mike McCafferty added: “Racing is already feeling the pinch and dying, taxing it further will speed up the process.”
Axe the tax attack
Daily Star’s Meg Jorsh dressed up to join them(Image: Jeremy Selwyn)
Even in the chaos of London’s Parliament Square, the jockeys are hard to ignore.
Eight of Britain’s brightest young talents, dressed in striking white silks, stand together to defend their sport.
And of course, your Daily Star is here to support their Axe The Racing Tax campaign.
The jockeys pose just feet from the Houses of Parliament. Meanwhile, an LED billboard urges politicians to help save Britain’s second most popular sport.