13-07-2005 The BHB defeated in the battle over data rights

The unanimous verdict of Lord Justices Pill, Clarke and Jacob brought to an end a case dating back to 2000, when the British Horseracing Board initiated legal action against William Hill for using information extracted from the BHB's database.

In 2001, the High Court ruled in the BHB’s favour. Hills appealed and last November the European Court of Justice ruled that the bookmaker had not infringed the BHB’s data rights.

"It is a black day for racing because this decision prevents the lift-off that we all wanted. But it is not a crisis," said the BHB Chairman, Martin Broughton.