The UET Board met in Paris, at the Vincennes racecourse, on the occasion of the European Trotting Championships Evening, i.e. the UET Grand Prix (4-year-olds) and the Finale of the UET Elite Circuit 2024.
The members of the Board were delighted with the success of the second edition of the UET Elite Circuit and the quality of the finale on offer. The formula adopted since 2023 has brought satisfaction in terms of the quality of the circuit and the quality of the horses taking part in the Final. A working group has been set up within the Board to ensure greater promotion of this circuit, which now brings together the finest trotting events in Europe.
In 2025, two changes will be made to the circuit with a new Italian event (the Gran Premio della Costa Azzura in Turin on 6 April), while the Finlandia Ajo will no longer be part of the circuit following a decision by Vermo racetrack. Only the Kymi Grand Prix remains on the calendar for Finland. The Finale of the UET Elite Circuit and the UET Grand Prix will take place in Solvalla (Sweden) on Saturday 11 October 2025.
The Board took note of the provisional results for the 2024 breeding season in Europe. The figures show a worrying drop in the number of broodmares covered in most European countries, ranging from -1.8% in France to -20% in Norway. The Board would like the UET to take action in response to this worrying trend. This issue will be one of the challenges of the next term of office of the UET bodies, starting in January 2025.
On a technical level, the Board has taken note of the proposals of the Technical Committee, which will be presented for approval at the UET General Assembly next January. The purpose of these changes is to facilitate and encourage anti-doping tests in a foreign country, at the request of a Racing Authority, and to specify the conditions for extending decisions taken by a Racing Authority in another UET member country. In this specific case, it is recalled that the regulations of the country organising a race apply.
In addition, Italy has announced that the provisions concerning the use of the whip in racing adopted by an Extraordinary General Assembly of the UET last July have been transposed into its regulations for application from 1st January 2025.
The UET Connect project (enabling each Racing Authority to query another country’s database via an API) continues to take shape : after Sweden, Finland, Norway and France, Italy has completed the IT work required for its integration. France should integrate the foreign data available before the end of 2024 in its own system. Belgium has shown an interest in becoming the next member connected.
Finally, the Board reaffirmed its support for UKRAINE by recommending that UET member countries not accept Russian drivers in the international competitions they organise, after having decided in March 2022 not to accept Russia’s participation in the work of the UET.
The next meeting of the UET Board will take place on Wednesday 8 January 2025 via Videoconferencing. The UET General Assembly will be held on Saturday 25 January 2025 at Paris-Vincennes racecourse (France).
Paris, October 11, 2024
