The move comes after the Jockey Club's senior steward Christopher Spence met with Sports Minister Richard Caborn earlier this week.

Caborn had called the meeting to discuss the BBC Panorama programme's explosive investigation into the Jockey Club's handling of the sport.

After that meeting, Caborn issued a statement of support for the Jockey Club but also called for the sport to be regulated by an independent authority.

He said there was a need for "new arrangements for the regulation of racing which achieve the necessary degree of independence and wider accountability".

Spence played down the suggestion that the Jockey Club would eventually be dismantled, saying it was more of a case of "evolving the regulatory structure".

The Jockey Club's initial proposals are expected within the next few weeks.

"We need to have a long, hard look at what is right for racing," Spence told the Racing Post.

"As I said many times before, I'm not averse to change, as long as it is change for the better - and change for the better includes perceptions.

"We can't play King Canute in the present circumstances.

"The ball has been passed to us to come up with ideas."