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Just a few years ago in 2019, several people and organisations associated with horse racing expressed that not enough was being done to make horse racing more accessible to the LGBTQ community. Two years later in 2021, several progressive steps have been taken on that front. Getting a closer look at past and present developments should help us understand the current situation in the UK’s horse racing industry better.
The 2020 LGBT+ Inclusion and Awareness e-Learning Module
In June 2020, a major effort to be more inclusive was made by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) by launching their LGBT+ Inclusion and Awareness e-learning module during Pride Month. The course remains both free and highly. More importantly, it has since been made a mandatory part of licencing courses at the National Horseracing College and the British Racing School. The free, self-enrollment module can be found here for more information.
The Launch of Racing with Pride
For the first time in the history of horse racing in the UK, a national horse racing network for the LBGT+ community was launched in September 2020. Racing with Pride takes a different approach to inclusiveness, as it seeks to provide a safe place for all members and supporters of the LGBTQ community so that they can participate, discuss, support, and unify under the banner of their shared love for horse racing and wider inclusion. However, Racing with Pride is open to non-LGBT+ individuals, as long as they are supportive of the cause.
Racing with Pride is also a platform for raising awareness within both the LGBT+ horse racing community, as well as the horse racing industry in general. The response to Diversity in Racing Steering Group’s Racing with pride has been quite profound so far, which is part of the network’s agenda. It seeks to become an outlet for its members to pitch ideas and visions about the horse racing industry’s future moves to make the entire sector more inclusive of minority groups.
Rose Grissell Highlights the Importance of Launching their Programs in 2020
The pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, social isolation, and infection concerns have impacted most people in some way or another. The Head of Diversity and Inclusion at BHA, Rose Grissell highlighted the fact that the LGBTQ community is already more likely to experience those feelings more severely than others.
Therefore, the LGBT+ Inclusion and Awareness e-Learning course, the Racing with Pride network, and various other steps taken by the Diversity and Inclusion Department were particularly necessary for 2020. In light of those, Rose Grissell’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect. They are progressive steps for a better tomorrow to build a supportive, inclusive, and friendly horse racing community for everyone.
Appreciation and Acceptance from the LGBTQ Community
As stated by broadcaster Clare Balding and a long-term activist for the British LGBTQ community, the horse racing industry is making a significant effort to include sexual minorities in everything. She has described it a “welcome innovation”, which will hopefully help more members of the community to come out openly and have fun at a racecourse with like-minded individuals. Thanks to those steps, anyone from any community can check the UK’s horse racing fixtures every day for the coming months, have fun discussing the upcoming races with others online, and even meet up in person at the racecourse.
Similar to how it should be in any other sport, horse racing should also be a friendly place for any member of the LGBTQ community. While that has not been the situation previously, things have changed a lot in recent years. Considering everything, it seems that the British horse racing industry is not just highly receptive to LGBTQ inclusion right now; the BHA also has plans to take further steps in the future. Various changes and events are coming that will help make horse racing even more supportive and inclusive for everyone.