On 24 September 2014, the Prime Minister’s Office of the Republic of Mauritius announced the creation of a Commission of Inquiry on Horse Racing in Mauritius. The Mauritius Turf Club (MTC) was the sole Horse Racing Organiser in Mauritius and it shouldered governance and regulatory functions parallelly. Therefore, the report which emanated from the inquiry (Parry Report) recommended a separate Horse Racing Authority to overview the regulatory functions of the horse racing industry. From this, the Horse Racing Division (HRD) emerged.

The HRD has been established under section 15A of the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) Act 2007 with the following objectives:

• regulate, control and monitor the organisation of horse racing activities;
• promote public confidence in the integrity of the horse racing industry by ensuring proper standards of conduct and competence;
• ensure that horse racing is fair, clean and free from corruption or malpractice;
• ensure that there is a clear and transparent framework for access to participation in horse racing; and
• promote the welfare and leisure of the racegoing public.

The HRD is administered and managed by the Horse Racing Committee (HRC).

Today, the HRD carries out the regulatory functions which includes ensuring that the horse racing organiser effectively discharges its responsibilities, ensuring transparency and good governance in the organisation of horse racing, protecting the integrity of racing, issuance of licences, setting up and enforcement of standards, approval of importation of horses, issuance of directions, rules and guidelines and implementation of strategies.