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Tote

My honourable friend the Minister for Tourism and Heritage (John Penrose) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. In my Written Statement to the House on 14 July 2011, I announced the completion of sale of the Tote and stated that Government would enter into discussions with the racing industry to design a scheme to distribute their share of the proceeds which would be compliant with EU state aid laws. I am pleased today to announce the completion of this piece of work. The conclusion of this process has been the creation of a new racing charity, the Racing Foundation, and a grant scheme which will be administered by the British Horseracing Authority. Racing's share of the proceeds will be distributed between the grant scheme and the Racing Foundation on an annual basis with the split decided by racing in agreement with Government. The first instalment of the proceeds was made on 14 March 2012 with the Racing Foundation receiving £10 million. I would like to extend my thanks to those representatives of the racing industry who have contributed to the process for their part in establishing what I hope will be a lasting legacy for British racing.