Own your own racing colours
Support Retraining of Racehorses by bidding on these cherished colours.


The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has released a distinctive set of owner’s colours, to be sold as a ‘right to register’ through a silent auction. Valued by the BHA at £15,000 - £20,000, all of the proceeds will be donated to the BHA’s official charity, Retraining of Racehorses (RoR).
The distinctive design features three coloured hoops in white, cerise and back with a matching hooped cap. Three coloured hoops have not been permissible since the standardisation of colours was introduced in 1971 and the colour cerise is now considered one of the 'cherished' colours - a historical colour which is no longer part of the standard palatte.
It is believed that there are fewer than 25 colours that sport this distinctive design, out of more than 14,000 registered in total, making the chance to own this particular set even more special.
100% of the proceeds will go to Retraining of Racehorses. Di Arbuthnot, Chief Executive of RoR, said: “We are very grateful to the BHA for making these unique 'colours' available. This will help us continue our vital work supporting the transition of racehorses into retirement.”
Retraining of Racehorses re-homes and retrains retired racehorses, many of whom go on to success in other fields. These horses enjoy a better retirement under the guidance and retraining services offered by RoR's dedicated team, and partner centres.
Taking the form of a silent auction, and administered by Weatherbys on behalf of the BHA, the bidding closes on Friday, April 17th 2015.
Bids should be made in writing to: Colours Auction, Weatherbys, Sanders Road, Wellingborough, NN8 4BX, UK.
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Agnes has worked for Country Life in various guises — across print, digital and specialist editorial projects — before finally finding her spiritual home on the Features Desk. A graduate of Central St. Martins College of Art & Design she has worked on luxury titles including GQ and Wallpaper* and has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Horse & Hound, Esquire and The Independent on Sunday. She is currently writing a book about dogs, due to be published by Rizzoli New York in September 2025.
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