Launched on 15 April 1986, the
Racing Post is a daily national print and digital publisher specializing in the
British horse racing industry, horse racing,
greyhound racing, and
sports betting. The paper was founded by
UAE (United Arab Emirates) Prime Minister and
Sheikh of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a racehorse owner, and edited by Graham Rock, who was replaced by Michael Harris in 1988. In 1998, Sheikh Mohammed sold the license for the paper to
Trinity Mirror, owners of
The Sporting Life for £1, although Sheikh Mohammed still retains ownership of the paper's name, and Trinity Mirror donated £10 million to four horse racing charities as a condition of the transfer. In 2007,
Trinity Mirror sold the paper for £170m to FL Partners, who appointed former editor Alan Byrne as editor-in-chief and chief executive. The paper launched its website, racingpost.co.uk, in 1997. After the paper's sale to FL Partners, the site was relaunched as racingpost.com in 2008. The business was sold to Exponent Private Equity in September 2016, with Richard Segal appointed chairman. Alan Byrne edited the paper from 1993 to 2002. He was succeeded by Chris Smith, who was then replaced by Bruce Millington in 2007. Millington was the editor between 2007 and 2018. In December 2018, Tom Kerr was named as the new editor of the
Racing Post and Group Racing Director, replacing Bruce Millington. The former horserace writer of the year previously worked as a senior writer for
Racing Post and had been with the business for nine years.
Racing Post employs approximately 300 permanent staff and expanded in 2018 by acquiring a majority stake in the leading sports betting website and app business, Apsley, as well as the acquisition of Leeds-based ICS Media Group, a content provider and
digital marketing agency. In March 2020, the Racing Post announced it would suspend publication of its print edition in response to the halting of British and Irish horseracing because of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Printing of the publication returned in June 2020. ==Content and features==