Content advisory: This article discusses suicide and mental health.
British racing has joined a sport-wide initiative intended to give ordinary people the confidence to notice when someone may be struggling, begin a supportive conversation and help them find appropriate assistance.
The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales launched On Your Side on World Suicide Prevention Day. Created specifically for sport, the toolkit aims to turn concern and good intentions into practical everyday action before a crisis develops.
Why this matters to racing
Racing can provide friendship, purpose and a powerful sense of belonging. It can also involve early starts, long and irregular hours, travel, injury, financial uncertainty, isolation and intense pressure to perform. Those pressures can be felt throughout the sport—not only by its most visible participants.
Stable staff, work riders, grooms, travelling teams, jockeys, trainers, breeders, stud staff, racecourse employees, officials, volunteers and families all form part of racing’s human network. A meaningful welfare commitment must recognise every one of them.
Racing organisations commit their support
The British Horseracing Authority is working with Racing Welfare, the Injured Jockeys Fund and other industry organisations to assess existing practice and identify where support can be strengthened. British racing was among the first sports to support the campaign and has committed to embedding the toolkit’s principles from grassroots participation through to elite competition.
Former Classic-winning jockey, jockey coach and broadcaster George Baker also appears in the campaign film. Its central message is important: a person does not have to be a mental-health expert to show care, ask a question and start a potentially life-saving conversation.
From awareness to everyday action
The toolkit was co-produced with the British Standards Institution and mental-health charity Chasing the Stigma. It is intended to help sporting organisations create safer environments, recognise warning signs, respond appropriately and connect people with professional support.
For racing, the test will be how consistently those principles reach the people working in yards, studs, weighing rooms, racecourses, offices and on the road. Publishing a commitment is a welcome beginning; making support visible, trusted and accessible across the working day is what will give it lasting value.
Thoroughbred.Global view: The people who keep racing moving should know that asking for help is a sign of strength. Welfare must include the wellbeing of every person behind the horse.
Find help now
- Immediate danger: call 999.
- Urgent but not life-threatening NHS support: call 111.
- Samaritans: call 116 123, free, at any time.
- Racing’s Support Line: call 0800 6300 443 for confidential, in-the-moment emotional support, 24 hours a day.
Learn more: The Royal Foundation – On Your Side · British Horseracing Authority announcement and industry support · Racing Welfare · Contact Samaritans.