Horse racing's leading figures hit Westminster after history-making protest against proposed tax rise on betting - with six-time Champion Trainer John Gosden offering grim warning that sport could be taken back to the '1970s' with catastrophic move

John Gosden made a powerful appeal to Government about the grave circumstances they could inflict on the day racing descended on Westminster.

With racing staging its first voluntary blackout yesterday, Gosden was joined by many of his fellow trainers for a rally at the QEII Conference Centre as the ‘Axe The Racing Tax’ campaign moved up a gear; eight jockeys, including Champion Oisin Murphy, made passers-by stop as they posed on Parliament Square with a banner featuring that slogan.

There were many powerful messages through the afternoon and racing’s leading figures were adamant the decision to postpone fixtures at Uttoxeter, Carlisle, Lingfield and Kempton was the right thing to do. It was certainly a unique sight seeing 10 foot white plastic horse being driven past Big Ben to grab everyone’s attention.

The most powerful words, though, came from Gosden. The possibility of taxes being raised from 15 per cent on bookmakers’ racing profits in line with the 21 per cent that is paid on online casino and slots profits would have a crippling effect on the industry – and the country as a whole.

‘When I first came to Newmarket in the 1970s, it was a grim time,’ said Gosden. ‘We were having strikes, the country was crippled by debt and it led to the three-day week. When I returned in the late 1980s, the place had changed completely. We had international wealth and Middle Eastern investment.

‘It would be risky and presumptuous to think that the children of the owners who brought that change will carry on with the level of investment. But there can be certainty and stability in our industry if it is given the chance. I hope that this Government does not take us back to the 1970s.’

Martin Cruddace, Chief Executive of Arena Racing Company, and his Jockey Club counterpart Jim Mullen both insisted that, for the time being, there are no plans for racecourses to close due to financial strains – the two companies own 30 of the 60 venues in the country.

Mullen is hopeful Government and The Treasury will see sense, as the money they would raise by increasing tax would be offset – and more – in other ways, particularly if an industry which employs 85,000 people was crippled with widespread unemployment.

The Treasury are probably some of the most coldly objective individuals you could meet – and they should be because they have got a really important job,’ said Mullen. ‘The reason why we can't fathom that this harmonisation would happen is that the £66 million impact that this tax would have on racing would basically impact £300m of tax receipts.

‘I would hope that those very, very clever and objective individuals within the Treasury will basically look at it and say what is the point if the impact over the medium term is to lose £300m. As well as doing that you are damaging something that the United Kingdom is unarguably the best in the world at.’