Trainers hit out at BHA as William Haggas steals the show in heated meeting with racing's leaders

Britain's trainers came together on Thursday to voice their frustration at the sport's governance and their perceived under-representation in decision-making during a tense and occasionally heated meeting in London.

The depth of trainers' feelings was shown by the large attendance for the annual meeting of the National Trainers Federation, with 70 members gathering from across the country, twice the usual number. And it was demonstrated again in remarkable scenes when William Haggas asked for a show of hands as to who ran British racing and there was a unanimous vote for racecourses rather than the BHA.

Interim BHA chair David Jones subsequently said he had "definitely heard" trainers' dissatisfaction.

British racing agreed a new governance structure in November 2022, with the BHA board becoming the ultimate decision-making body.

NTF chief executive Paul JohnsonCredit: Racing Post/Scott Burton

However, speaking in a session attended by senior figures from the BHA following the annual meeting, NTF chief executive Paul Johnson noted the large attendance and said: "The reason we have this number of people, who have turned out from all across the country, is because I think there is concern about where the sport is at the moment, and that will come through to you loud and clear, I am sure.

"We would like to address the fact there is a feeling that is very clear at times that the sport is heavily influenced on the racecourse side and less influenced on the Thoroughbred Group side."

Acting BHA chief executive Brant Dunshea acknowledged that there was "an obvious challenge" in terms of the balance of power between the two sides, while Jones added: "I think those of us who sit on the board see that imbalance as well and I want you to be reassured that we don't just ignore it."

However, trainer Hughie Morrison argued that trainers also represented owners, breeders and stable staff, and described the lack of influence they had as "disrespectful".

He added: "We are severely under-represented on the [BHA] board whilst the racecourses are severely over-represented."

Haggas then asked the NTF members present if they thought the BHA or the racecourses ran racing. The unanimous response was for racecourses, after which Haggas said: "If you are looking for a problem with governance, I'd start there."

Jones responded to the vote by saying: "William, that is a very clear message. Thank you."

Johnson said: "What is coming across loud and clear is some dissatisfaction that probably does stem from the governance of the sport. I hope that has been understood and logged."

Jones replied: "I have definitely heard."

Ralph Beckett: "It takes time in the role and we don't have time." Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Jones also said that Lord Charles Allen, who will become the next permanent chair of the BHA in June, had "some strong views on governance" and spoke about the reasons for his appointment, saying he had been chosen for the job because he had "scored superbly" compared to other candidates.

Jones, who chaired the nominations committee which chose Lord Allen, was questioned about the process by Ralph Beckett, who pointed to Lord Allen's apparent lack of background in the sport.

"Anybody going into that role is not going to grasp hold of the role straight away," Beckett added. "It takes time in the role and we don't have time."

Jones said that Lord Allen's qualities included "huge resilience, huge political engagement with the current government and a real interest in sport".

He added: "Most importantly, [he is] somebody who can really lead a proper commercial agenda as a FTSE100 chair who understands that sort of area, and [has] a real commitment to want to do it.

"I kept saying to him, 'Why do you want to do it?' He said, 'I want to do it because I want to do the difficult, I don't want to do the easy.'

"So on all those areas he scored superbly above all the other candidates we saw, whether they were connected with horseracing or not, and that's why we took that decision."

The Thoroughbred Group, of which the NTF is a member, is in the midst of discussions with the Racecourse Association (RCA) over the creation of new commercial partnerships which would result in a link formed between participants and racecourses to share the revenue that is generated by the sport.

Johnson claimed there was a desire from the RCA to move things forward, with the next meeting planned for next week.

He added: "We are going to need the BHA to help us because some of the levers we want the racecourses to work towards are fixture allocation and allocation of rate card funds from the Levy Board."

Dunshea said the BHA had identified funding support for the Thoroughbred Group to carry on its work.

He added: "The BHA's position is quite clear. We absolutely are supportive of the NTF and Thoroughbred Group working together to come up with some commercial partnerships with the racecourses."

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