RBB expert involved in landmark English High Court competition law case

On 21 December 2005 Mr Justice Etherton issued a Judgment in the Chancery Division of the English High Court in which the British Horseracing Board (BHB) was found to have abused its dominant position in the supply of pre-race data, in breach of EU and UK competition laws. The Judgment concluded that the BHB should charge only a small fraction of the price it was proposing to charge for use of its database to Attheraces (ATR), a specialist UK-based broadcaster that also sells pictures and data on British horseracing to overseas bookmakers. This is believed to be the first time a UK Court has made a finding of abuse of a dominant position, and the first definitive ruling that a proposed price is unlawful because it is excessive. A team from Olswang acted for ATR on the case alongside Charles Hollander QC and Danny Jowell, both of Brick Court Chambers. Derek Ridyard was the economic expert for ATR.