'Things have got to change' - BHA board becomes ultimate decision-maker

The BHA board has become the sport's ultimate decision-making body as part of a new governance structure for British racing agreed on Monday, which it is hoped will enable the sport to adopt a strategy that puts the greater good above the interests of individual groups.

A new structure has been regarded as a vital foundation for work on a long-term strategy to address issues that have afflicted the sport in recent years, such as internationally uncompetitive prize-money, low field sizes and a drain of equine talent abroad.

And the final hurdle was negotiated on Monday morning when the proposals were passed unanimously by an extraordinary general meeting of the Racecourse Association (RCA).

Work on the initiative has been ongoing for the last year following widespread acceptance the Members' Agreement in place since 2015, which set out how decisions would be made between the BHA, racecourses and Thoroughbred Group, had become a hindrance to progress due to the powers of veto it contained.

As part of the new structure, the Members' Committee and Executive Committee have been disbanded. Instead, three new committees have been formed, all reporting to the BHA board. The board, which makes its decisions on a majority basis, will have ultimate say over what recommendations to implement.

BHA board

Joe Saumarez Smith BHA chair since June 2022
Julie Harrington BHA chief executive since January 2021
David Armstrong Racecourse Association chief executive
John Ferguson Member-nominated director for the Thoroughbred Group
David Jones BHA senior independent director
Charlie Parker Thoroughbred Group chair
Raj Parker Regulatory independent non-executive director
Wilf Walsh Racecourse Association chair
Laura Whyte Independent non-executive director
Tenth board member to be announced

The new commercial committee will oversee the work of the existing fixtures and funding group, racing group and gambling strategy group. It will be chaired by the BHA's senior independent director David Jones, who chaired the Whip Consultation Steering Group and has been a steward, racehorse owner and a member of the racecourse committee at Kempton.

The committee, which has already met once in shadow, will be made up of five representatives apiece from racecourses and the Thoroughbred Group, BHA chief executive Julie Harrington and BHA chief operating officer Richard Wayman. It will develop areas of the industry strategy with a commercial focus, including the racing product, promotion of the sport and initiatives regarding key groups such as owners and bettors.

However, BHA chair Joe Saumarez Smith revealed on Monday that the committee would not vote, an issue which he said had caused much discussion during the process of creating the new structure. Instead, members will make their views known to the board.

Saumarez Smith said: "It will allow us, as the board, a lot more nuance in understanding where each of those parties are coming from when we are making a decision."

Also feeding into the board will be the integrity advisory committee, which will provide strategic advice to the executive and make recommendations to the BHA board on matters relating to the sport's integrity, along with an industry programme group that will contribute to strategy relating to areas including horse welfare, social licence and environmental sustainability.

Harrington described the agreement as "an important step along the road to developing an industry strategy to secure the future prosperity of racing in Britain".

She added: "This new structure not only provides a platform upon which progress can be established, but also clarifies the BHA's role as the sport's governing body and regulator. Acting on behalf of our members at the RCA and the Thoroughbred Group, I'm confident this structure will lead to better-informed decisions on commercial and strategic matters."

Saumarez Smith believes the removal of a power of veto was a vital element of the new structure, and said: "Ultimately the recommendations going up to the BHA board makes it easier for those difficult decisions to be made. I think people were quite often avoiding making difficult decisions because they knew that the veto was there under the old structure.

Joe Saumarez Smith: 'The recommendations going up to the BHA board makes it easier for those difficult decisions to be made'

"Hopefully this will make things better. It will still be down to seeing how it plays out and some of these things will be down to personalities but ultimately the BHA board does have that power to make those decisions now."

Thoroughbred Group chair Charlie Parker and his RCA counterpart Wilf Walsh said there was an acceptance there would be short-term pain from BHA decisions that might run counter to their interests.

However, Parker said the two-day industry strategy meeting that took place in September had demonstrated there was a need for action.

He said: "Everybody is completely aware that to change the strategy, to change the way we do things and the way we market ourselves, there are going to be some casualties I suppose, some blood on the carpet, and that's why that two-day strategy session was so positive because everybody in the room bought into that and bought into those ideas."

Walsh described trying to make progress in the sport previously as like "trying to wade through treacle".

He added: "There's a realisation that things have got to change in the medium to long term for the future of the sport. That means there probably will be some short-term pain that I hope will be spread equitably among everybody in the sport.

"It's not about the BHA getting its own way, it's about the BHA acting on behalf of its shareholders, and this structure allows its shareholders to get together and decide jointly what it wants to happen, what it needs to happen to ensure the future of the sport."

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