Can British racing get its act together to take the lead?

There is a week to improve at Royal Ascot, but there is a lot of regression in British racing. As leaders leave, either voluntarily or due to internal pressure, there is a power vacuum in the industry.

Some are making delayed withdrawals (watch out for a damn common miss this winter). However, the following nominations are already in the empty situation columns.

British Horseracing Authority – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Jockey Club – General Director
Great British Racing – CEO
Association of Race Horse Owners – President

Joe Saumarez Smith, Julie Harrington (both BHA), Nevin Truesdale (Jockey Club), Rod Street (GB) and Charlie Liverton (ROA) have left or will leave. It’s boom time for headhunters as the carousel of leadership positions grows and leaves administrators.

Traffic is normal, but the scale of the racing exodus raises questions. Royal Ascot almost runs on its own, along the gilded railing. But who is racing now, how and for what purpose? Where should replacements come from and with what skills? Simply put, what do racing want from its bosses?

The ad hints at Saumarez Smith’s role. The next BHA chairman “will need to be able to think commercially”, something Saumarez Smith, who has been ill, already did (who couldn’t in that position).

Here we see a puzzle and a contradiction for sports governing bodies. They are: 1. Deal hunters, money makers, finance hunters, balance sheet jockeys and 2. Regulators, custodians, grassroots gardeners and image projectors.

Trust me when I say that these two panties are often incompatible. Directors are judged on their balance sheets. They are encouraged to prioritize revenue over institutional coherence. Many of them have built-in bonuses based on the number of sponsorships and revenue they can accumulate.

Three years ago at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), directors shared a bonus pot of £2.1 million, partly for creating The Hundred, a new competition that featured carriage and horse riding for the rest of the sport, and is now sold to a private capital company.

No messiah has been born to lead tribes that do not want to be led

In racing, directors are expected to similarly “generate revenue” while dealing with internal conflicts, a flawed business model that results in low prize money, animal welfare, whiplash, lack of diversity, affordability controls and so on. They also have great sport at their disposal – as Royal Ascot will demonstrate – but it is no surprise that many buckle under the weight.

If racing needs friends in high places, we have some encouraging news in the likely love of the next Prime Minister’s wife for the sport. According to Daily TelegraphIt is said that “Lady Victoria’s passions are horse racing, music and food.”

What a comfort racing would be if the conversation at the table in number 10 suddenly turned to Levy, Premier Racing and saving the Cheltenham Festival and the Derby from falling attendances. For now we have to accept that saving the NHS will be more about Keir Starmer.

A famous dispute is whether racing leaders should come from outside or inside. To chase big money, you need a business, but your sense of opportunity won’t necessarily be coupled with an understanding of what your audience wants, how to communicate, or how to update a tradition.

So who is the modern racing leader? Commercial warrior, patrician of the past, gifted diplomat, Westminster cocktail, media sharpshooter? All of the above, bounty hunters cry! Name a hot city racer with a cursory knowledge of the sport and you can expect a thousand-yard stare when it comes to racing politics. Hire a recruit from the 19th^vol century-old roots in a sport that emerged from the racing bubble, and you might not get the sharpest modernizer.

Good luck to whoever fills all the vacancies listed above. Everyone will face the 60-year-old reality generated by the revenue race – betting turnover goes straight to the external bookmaker industry, and only crumbs come back. This sets it apart from countries that are moving towards the dominance of British racing.

Racing is an archipelago of “stakeholders”: owners, breeders, racetracks, bookmakers, trainers, etc. Until everyone accepts the common task of creating a form of entertainment and protecting the public, the turf war will continue. Great leadership in racing is essential. Critical, actually. But no messiah was born to lead the tribes that did not want to be led.

All those who left senior positions by the end of the year made their mark in the face of constant, sometimes uncontrollable pressure (for example, social change). The next wave of recruiting is undoubtedly the most important the sport has ever had to undergo.

It sounds old-fashioned, but the first hope for leaders in any sport is integrity, passion, knowledge, experience, an open mind, courage in decision-making and a willingness to explain and communicate. If this sounds like Superman or a woman, the pay is good and job satisfaction can be great.