TBA's 109th Annual General Meeting optimistic for the future for British breeding

The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) held its 109th Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 1 September 2026, with Chairman Philip Newton acknowledging the significant challenges still facing British breeding and racing but expressing greater optimism that the importance of a strong and sustainable domestic breeding industry is now being recognised across the sport.

The meeting also marked the official launch of the TBA’s 2025 Annual Report, which highlights the breadth of the Association’s work and its continued focus on using robust evidence and data to better understand the pressures facing breeders, inform industry debate and develop practical solutions for the future.

Addressing members and trustees, Newton said that stabilising Britain’s declining foal crop must remain a central priority. With the broodmare population continuing to contract, he warned that breeding stock, expertise and investment cannot easily be recovered once lost and stressed that supporting British breeding can no longer be left solely to market forces.

However, Newton said there had been an important shift in the wider industry’s understanding of the issue, with growing recognition that the health of British breeding is fundamental to the long-term sustainability of racing.

He highlighted the Great British Bonus (GBB), which has now paid out more than £25 million since its launch in 2020, as a clear example of how targeted intervention can encourage investment in British-bred horses and deliver tangible benefits to breeders, owners and connections. Building on that success, the TBA will continue to develop and advocate for practical measures which strengthen breeder confidence, support demand for British-bred horses and, ultimately, help to put a floor under the domestic foal crop.

Newton also pointed to a number of areas where the TBA is building the evidence base needed to support longer-term decision-making. These include ongoing work around the genetic diversity of the thoroughbred, lifetime traceability and equine health and welfare, alongside the development of a longer-term strategy for British breeding.

Newton said: “The challenges facing British breeding are very real, but I believe the conversation has changed. There is now much greater recognition across racing that a strong breeding industry is fundamental to the future of the sport, and that practical action is required to support it.

“Our role at the TBA is to ensure that action is informed by evidence. We need to understand the issues properly, develop credible solutions and make the case for interventions that will rebuild confidence and encourage investment in British breeding.

“Putting a floor under the foal crop must be one of our central objectives. We have already seen through the Great British Bonus what can be achieved when the industry gets behind a targeted and well-supported initiative, and we need to build on that approach.”

Newton also welcomed the increasingly prominent representation of the breeding sector within racing’s governance, including the appointment of former TBA trustee and owner-breeder Simon Cox as Chairman of the British Horseracing Authority.

Looking ahead, Newton reaffirmed the TBA’s commitment to representing breeders of every size, from major commercial operations to smaller breeders and owner-breeders, and to ensuring that the breeding sector remains at the heart of decisions about racing’s future.

The meeting’s official matters of business included the approval of the minutes of the previous AGM, re-election of the auditors, confirmation of membership fees for 2027, and the appointment of two newly voted Trustees.

Jess Westwood of Molland Ridge Stud has been re-appointed having served one term on the TBA Board along with Kelly Thomas of Maywood Stud who will join the board having been voted in by the membership.

Leaving the board of trustees as of immediately is Simon Cox following his recent appointment as Chairman of the British Horseracing Authority which will commence from October 1, 2026.

Questions from the floor were accepted at the end of the meeting where trustees and members were invited to answer questions on their areas of interest.

The TBA’s 2025 Annual Report was formally launched and can be viewed here.