Alicia Hughes | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Racing Biz, LLC, a media company focused on Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the mid-Atlantic region, has partnered with freelance journalist Teresa Genaro and NTRA Director of Communications Alicia Hughes to launch a series of digital panel discussions designed to tackle issues of diversity and inclusion within the Thoroughbred industry.

The series, titled “Truth to Power,” will bring together various participants within the racing realm to share their perspectives on racial, gender, and social inequality and how it impacts the sport as a whole. In addition to featuring industry stakeholders, the multi-part series will also seek out diversity experts from other sports to help illustrate why greater inclusion is crucial for any business seeking sustainable growth.

The first panel will take place on February 24 at 5 p.m. ET and is set to feature noted bloodstock agent Greg Harbut, a third-generation horseman, and his business partner, Lexington-based entrepreneur Ray Daniels, to discuss their experience as Black owners in the racing and their non-profit the Ed Brown Society, which is working to create opportunities for people of color in the Thoroughbred industry through scholarships, internships, and apprenticeships.

“As a biracial female working in the Thoroughbred industry, the issue of diversity – specifically the lack thereof in this sport – is a deeply personal one for me,” Hughes said. “I am hoping we can further enlighten aspiring allies while holding industry leaders accountable to have their practices match their statements denouncing systemic injustice.”

In addition to Harbut and Daniels, the panel will also feature an interview with Rose Grissell, head of Diversity and Inclusion for the British Horseracing Authority, which has had a Diversity in Racing Action plan in place since 2018.

“With each passing year, the United States becomes a more multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural society,” said Frank Vespe, owner and publisher of The Racing Biz. “The future of the Thoroughbred industry here will depend in no small part on its ability to adapt to that changing landscape and to speak to, and most importantly, listen to, people of all races and ethnicities.”

“The racing industry has been slow to become more inclusive and equitable,” Genaro said. “The sport could not survive without the labor of people of color, yet their voices are seldom part of the big conversations about its future. Increasing the participation of people of color and of women, on boards, in offices, and as customers, is an essential step in the industry's growth.”

The panel will be streamed on both The Racing Biz website (www.theracingbiz.com) and social media platforms @TheRacingBiz as well as on the NTRA's Twitter account @NTRA.

Tentative dates for future panels include March 17 and April 7, both at 5 p.m. ET.

The post ‘Truth To Power’: Racing Biz Launches Virtual Series On Race, Social Justice In Thoroughbred Industry appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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As many people in the United States and around the world question their personal views on diversity and racial inclusion, we decided to look inwardly on our industry, and we found it wanting. So we asked a tough question to several industry members- How do we make racing at its highest level more diverse?

ALICIA HUGHES, Director of NTRA Communications

As a person of color in this sport, this is a topic that is extremely personal. This is my life. When you talk about what racing can do to be more diverse, in my mind, racing needs to start by acknowledging the issue of a lack of diversity in positions of power and influence. That is something that we have yet to do. I have pulled transcripts from symposiums and round tables, but there has been no discussion. The issue of the lack of diversity in this industry has not even been brought up.

And it’s not just with people of color- it’s women, the LGBTQ community, and so many other forms. The sport needs to look itself in the mirror. You can’t fix the problem until you acknowledge its existence.

If you look at all of our boards in this sport, from one organization to another, they all have a homogenous makeup. There’s little representation from women and an even smaller representation from people of color.

In racing, we talk about wanting to be seen as a mainstream sport. Well every other mainstream sport worth its salt has already taken measures to try to reflect the nation’s demand for greater inclusivity and diversity, while racing has remained largely stagnant. So if we’re going to make any progress, we need to get with the times and have the hard conversations that make people uncomfortable. And then we need to start taking action to make meaningful change. It’s not just about filling quotas, you have to value people’s experience and knowledge that they bring to the table, and allow them to make your sport better.

The power of representation is huge. We’ve seen that in many other different venues.

We have a generation of tennis players- Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens, and Naomi Osaka, who would not be in the sport if they did not grow up watching the Williams sister and thinking, ‘I could do that someday. That is a road that is open for me.’

Where is our representation for people of color in this sport? On our boards, or for track announcers, bid spotters, auctioneers? Where can somebody of color look and say, ‘I could do that.’

I’m a big fan of hockey, and the NHL has many similar socioeconomic challenges as horse racing. To its credit, the NHL looked themselves in the mirror and acknowledged that they have a problem. They asked themselves how they could become more inclusive and more diverse. They’ve been working on their Hockey is for Everyone initiative. They hired Kim Davis, who in 2012 was ranked in Essence magazine’s “28 Most Influential Black Women in America,” as their Executive Vice President, Social Impact, Growth Initiatives, and Legislative Affaires. They are trying.

We’re also seeing it play out in real time right now with NASCAR. Everybody knows NASCAR’s roots with the Confederate flag. NASCAR is now saying that they’re done with that, they want to change, and they’re banning the Confederate flag. A couple weeks ago, they stopped the cars before a race and NASCAR president Steven Phelps came out and delivered a speech acknowledging their issues. It’s been a long time coming for them, and something they probably needed to do a long time ago, but they are now working to solve their issues.

Anyone who has a problem with what these organizations are doing is probably part of the problem.

We need that representation, and until we address the issue, nothing will change. We wonder why nothing changes in this sport, but we’ve been recycling the same people in the same positions over and over again, and we act surprised when we get the same result.

It’s high time that our sport has its feet held to the fire on this. I love this sport, but as a person of color you want this sport to love you as much as you love it. There’s been very few organizations and entities in this industry that have spoken up during all of this. Don’t think that the silence has not been unnoticed.

I am grateful to work for an organization in the NTRA that has stepped up and spoken out and is taking meaningful action toward improving these issues through our work with the Legacy Equine Academy.

This issue does not have to be political, it is an issue of humanity. If we can’t stand up against racism, what does that say about the sport? Every other sport is figuring this out, why can’t we? If we want to be treated as a mainstream sport, here’s our chance to be part of the mainstream conversation.

There’s a reckoning coming for the world right now, and racing needs to figure out what side of history it wants to be on.

Do you have an idea that you would be willing to share for this series? Email the TDN’s Katie Ritz at katieritz@tdn.com.

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