The English High Court found in Attheraces v The British Horse Racing Board [2005] in December 2005 that the governing authority for horseracing in the UK, the British Horseracing Board (BHB), had abused its dominant position in relation to pre-race data, in breach of European Union (EU) and UK competition laws.
The judgment prevents the BHB from forcing Attheraces (ATR), a broadcaster of UK horseracing, to pay significant fees to the BHB for the supply of pre-race data. The case has resulted in a series of legal firsts in respect of private enforcement of EU and UK competition law and is a significant advance in the courts’ willingness and ability to deal with these kinds of claims.
