The financial difficulties facing the sport of horse racing have regularly hit the headlines in 2025, with bookmakers and racecourses among those voicing their concerns. Also affected are the men and women who help make the sport tick – the trainers.
The latest to decide that a career as a trainer is no longer viable is a Newmarket handler who appeared to be on the rise. In a shock announcement, a tearful Alice Haynes stated that her runners at Chelmsford on Thursday, would be the last of her five-year training career. Hugely popular with fellow trainers and punters, the 34-year-old’s decision represents the latest blow in what has been a difficult year for the sport.
Low Key Jockey Scales Greater Heights as Trainer
Like many in the training fraternity, Alice Haynes began life as a jockey. Chiefly supported by David Simcock, she rode nine winners on the flat and one in the National Hunt sphere between 2008 and 2020. She would go on to dwarf those numbers as a trainer.
Setting out as a trainer in 2021, Haynes was initially based at Cadland Cottage Stables, enjoyed a stint at Machell Place Stables, and latterly settled at Kremlin Cottage Stables in Newmarket. Kicking off with 20 wins in 2021, she improved to 50 in 2022 and surpassed the half-century mark in both 2023 and 2024. Her best year in terms of prize money came in 2023, when her runners earned £599,520 for connections.
The feature Listed @Goffs1866 @IrishEBF_ Polonia Stakes goes to Fix You with the Night Of Thunder filly powering home under Seamie Heffernan to score for @ahaynesracing and @amoracingltd pic.twitter.com/ZoNvm7uDCy
— Cork Racecourse (@corkracecourse) May 5, 2023
Given those numbers, a 27-winner, £419,147 haul for 2025 represented a downturn in fortunes and may have played a role in her decision. Despite that dip, 2025 included Haynes’ biggest earnings in a single race, thanks to Cairo’s excellent third at odds of 100/1 in the Queen Anne Stakes.
With an official rating of 113, that ex-Aidan O’Brien runner was comfortably the most talented horse Haynes ever trained.
Big Race Wins at Home and Abroad
Haynes’ time as a trainer may have been short, but she made maximum use of a comparatively small squadron. Big race highlights include the following wins at Listed level or above in Britain, Ireland, and Italy.
- 2021 British Stallion Studs EBF Silver Tankard Stakes (Listed) – Mr Professor
- 2022 Arqana Irish EBF Marwell Stakes (Listed) – Lady Hollywood
- 2022 Prix d’Arenberg (Group 3) – Lady Hollywood
- 2023 Goffs Irish EBF Polonia Stakes (Listed) – Fix You
- 2024 Premio Nogara (Listed) – Ziggy’s Dream
- 2024 Premio Mario E Vittorio Crespi (Listed) – Naana’s Diamond
A Painful Decision
In a statement released on Thursday, Haynes announced that there would be no further additions to that list of big race triumphs, saying:
“Tonight at Chelmsford, I will saddle my final runners as a trainer. It’s a sentence I never imagined I would have to say. Stepping away from something that has shaped my days and captured my heart has been an incredibly painful decision, but the truth is that racing’s current financial model does not make it viable to continue.”
Whilst Haynes did not specify her financial issues, they seem likely to include the rising costs of feed, bedding, staff, and maintenance. Other common pressures include the falling number of owners in the sport, and the wider economic climate. While the bigger yards can withstand these pressures, smaller operations, such as that of Haynes, are finding it increasingly difficult to cope. Haynes isn’t the first to draw stumps in the current environment and, unless something changes, she may not be the last.
What Next for Alice?
As a familiar face in the media and one of the trainers for the Coral Racing Club, Haynes’ absence from the training scene certainly won’t go unnoticed. Happily, the outgoing trainer suggested that this may not be the last we see of her in racing circles.
Tonight @ChelmsfordCRC, I will saddle my final runners as a trainer. It’s a sentence I never imagined I would have to say. Stepping away from something that has shaped my days and captured my heart has been an incredibly painful decision … pic.twitter.com/8Y64bUcIDW
— Alice Haynes Racing (@ahaynesracing) December 4, 2025
Looking ahead, Haynes expressed her desire to remain in the sport in some capacity and hinted at a possible return to the training ranks in the future:
“As for what’s next, I’m taking a step back to reflect and see where the next chapter leads. I’d love to stay involved in the sport, perhaps through media work or any opportunities that come my way – and maybe one day I’ll train again. This is no means a goodbye to the sport that has given me so much and that I love.”
