'A gentleman' - Jack Berry pays tribute to bookmaker and owner Brian Ansell

Bookmaker and racehorse owner Brian Ansell has died at the age of 80 after a short illness.

Ansell bridged the eras of street bookmaking and licensed premises, founding the Watford-based Ansells chain of shops with his father Cyril in 1963, with the firm later branching out into telephone and internet betting.

The Ansell family's purple and white silks were carried by Confusion, who was first past the post in the 1974 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, a race notorious for the disqualification of the first three home for interference.

Brian Ansell went on to enjoy success with horses trained by Mick Haynes, Bill Turner and Jack Berry, who campaigned the 11-time winner Ansellman in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

"What a lovely, lovely man he was, an absolute gentleman," Berry said. "He came to us with his horse Ansellman, who had been trained by Bryan Smart.

"We had him at Cockerham and he won some nice races for us. Brian was an absolute gentleman and we retired the horse here when we stopped training.

"We had him until he was 29 years old and every year Brian would send us a cheque far in excess of his keep. I could not speak highly enough of him and my thoughts are with his wife Barbara."

Ansell's funeral will take place at 2pm on January 11 at West Herts Crematorium, High Elms Lane, Garston, Watford, WD25 0JS.

Conditional Lenihan punctures lung and breaks ribs at Taunton

Conditional Kai Lenihan sustained a punctured lung and broken ribs in a pre-race incident at Taunton on Wednesday.

Lenihan's mount Samatian, trained by his boss Kim Bailey, reared over into plastic rails and on to the rider. He was taken to Taunton Hospital but was sent home on Wednesday night.

Lenihan has made an eyecatching start for Bailey, winning on six of his 12 mounts for the Andoversford trainer this season, with a £1 level stake profit of +25.33.

Three new board members for IHRB

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has demonstrated its commitment to increasing diversity and independence with the appointment of two new directors to the board.

Mary Cullen and Alison Millar will commence their roles on January 1, joining Angela Flanagan, whose appointment was announced in November.

These appointments follow the recommendations of an Oireachtas joint committee on agriculture report released in 2021, with the intention to “increase transparency and accountability at board level”.

Flanagan will become the first independent director in the IHRB’s history, having previously worked as a special adviser to both Enda Kenny and Leo Varadkar, when they served as Taoiseach.

Cullen, who also joins as an independent director, is a chartered accountant who has worked in senior management with PwC, while she also holds a number of non-executive positions including with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Millar is a nominee of the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee.

IHRB chief executive Darragh O’Loughlin said; “The IHRB recognises the importance of having a board which reflects the industry and wider Irish society. The appointments show the board’s commitment to gender balance at board level, independent board members and Northern Irish representation.”

IHRB chairman Martin O’Donnell said; “We are delighted to be welcoming Angela, Mary, and Alison to the board, and I very much looking forward to working with them in the future.”

'It's produced some great stories' - Sky Bet Sunday Series to return in 2023

The Sky Bet Sunday Series, largely hailed as a success since its introduction in 2021, will return next year with a prize pool of £1.2 million across the six meetings.

The initiative between ITV, Racecourse Media Group (RMG) and Sky Bet showcases the sport in a twilight slot on Sunday, offering a host of bonuses for those involved.

Its final details will be announced in the new year, but the series will start at Musselburgh on April 30, before meetings at Hamilton on May 14 and Beverley on June 11, while the action moves to Pontefract two weeks later.

Haydock hosts a card on August 6 prior to the finale at Sandown a fortnight after and Ed Gretton, director of racing at RMG, said: "Last year's Sky Bet Sunday Series really built on the inaugural success of 2021, and produced some great storylines.

"The series, which is designed to grow the value of the sport by maximising the Sunday opportunity, has attracted highly competitive, good-quality racing, with excellent field sizes, and a fresh injection of significant prize-money and bonuses. We look forward to revealing exciting new initiatives and bonuses for the series in the new year."

The BHA later confirmed 17 changes to the 2023 fixture list to accommodate the Sunday Series and the Racing League. A total of ten fixtures were added, while six meetings were moved from an afternoon slot to the evening and one in the other direction.

Huntingdon reopens stable staff facilities after £100,000 refurbishment

Huntingdon has recently opened its upgraded stable staff facilities after a refurbishment costing more than £100,000.

The track had to use a burger van to provide catering for stable staff in recent years while the improvements were being made, but now there is a fully functioning canteen as well as male and female changing rooms and showers.

The improvements have been given the thumbs-up by the National Association of Racing Staff, whose spokesman Pete McCullough inspected the facilities at a recent meeting.

He said: "I'm proud of the refurbishment carried out at Huntingdon and it's been great working with Roderick Duncan [clerk of the course] since January. The team at Jockey Club Racecourses have invested substantial sums of money in this project and this is just the start, with the stable yard also having redevelopment plans."

Funeral of former BBC commentator John Hanmer

The funeral of John Hanmer, the former BBC commentator and jockey's agent who died last month at the age of 82, will be held at Ardington parish church, near Wantage in Oxfordshire (OX12 8QA), at 11.45am on Tuesday, January 10.

His family request no flowers but donations can be made to Thames Valley Air Ambulance, which covers Berkshire. Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

New general manager at Bangor

The new year will bring a fresh chapter at Bangor racecourse when Patrick Chesters takes over as general manager from the long-serving Jeannie Chantler.

Chesters, a former independent bookmaker, has been employed by the track's owner Chester Race Company for ten years, holding the position of head of gaming since 2018.

Bangor chairman Richard Aston said: "I'm thrilled Paddy is joining Bangor-on-Dee as general manager. His experience in the racing and gaming industry combined with his passion for horses will help to expand our raceday offer."

Chesters, who is also an owner and work-rider, said: "I'm delighted to be given the opportunity to take over the stewardship of Bangor-on-Dee racecourse. I would like to thank Jeannie for her unwavering commitment over the last 20 years and I look forward to the challenge of driving the success of the racecourse further."

Bangor's fixture on December 9, which had been due to feature a race named in Chantler's honour, was cancelled due to the cold snap and Chesters is set for his first meeting in charge on January 12.

Brouder banned until March for failing to notify IHRB of stable move

Gearoid Brouder has had his training licence suspended until March at the earliest for failing to notify the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) that he had moved stables.

Brouder's base was supposed to be in Dunlavin in County Wicklow but he had switched to an unlicensed premises in Caragh in County Kildare without letting the authorities know.

Colleen Murphy, an authorised officer for the IHRB, visited Brouder's yard in Dunlavin in September to find that it was empty. She was told he had moved to Caragh and the IHRB team confirmed that to be the case.

Brouder had moved premises without complying with the rules, including important paperwork that needed to be filled out.

In his evidence, Brouder outlined the reasons behind his change of yard and said it was an administrative error that led to his failure to deliver the paperwork to the IHRB. He apologised for the oversight.

Brouder was found in breach of five rules and the referrals committee imposed a 12-month withdrawal of his licence. That was backdated to September with the latter six months suspended, so he can reapply for his licence in March.

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