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Former Cycling Executive Julie Harrington Named CEO Of British Horseracing Authority

The BHA Board has chosen the Chief Executive of British Cycling, Julie Harrington, to be the new head of British horseracing's governing body and regulator.

She will take over the post at the beginning of 2021 after nearly 4 years leading British Cycling, which has more than 160,000 grassroots members and is responsible for the elite team preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Julie Harrington is a former member of the BHA Board and was a senior executive with Northern Racing for 8 years, including a spell as Managing Director of Uttoxeter. She is one of the most experienced leaders in sport, with a strong background in consumer, operational and regulatory roles, and a clear understanding of the financial challenges facing participants.

As the Operations Director for the FA, she was responsible for Wembley Stadium and St George's Park, the FA training facility. Her early career was with Whitbread Inns as Regional Marketing Director and then with British Airways as Retail Sector Director. She has been responsible for managing British Cycling's relationship with HSBC UK, its leading sponsor and partner.

As Chief Executive of British Cycling, she has dealt with some significant regulatory challenges. The role has also involved engagement with UK Sport and Sport England over elite funding and growing participation, achieving its target for more than two million cyclists by 2020. It works closely with the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport and the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales through their national cycling bodies.

BHA Chair, Annamarie Phelps, commented:

“I am delighted that Julie is coming back to the BHA and to racing and the Board and I are looking forward to working closely with her. This is a vital leadership role for the organisation and British racing. Julie's hands-on knowledge of horseracing, coupled with her governance and business experience, make her the ideal person to carry on with the task of restoring sustainable prosperity after the COVID crisis. We've got the right person, for the right job, at the right time.”

Julie Harrington said:

“I'm so excited to be coming home to racing and playing my part helping this great sport to achieve a prosperity from which everyone benefits. I know how important collaboration across racing has been over the past few months and I look forward to working with colleagues from all parts of the sport.

“The BHA and its team of dedicated officials do a great job in keeping racing safe, clean and fair. I am proud to take on this leadership role in such a well-regulated sport, which enriches the lives of horses and people, and has a special place at the centre of national life and our rural communities.”

Julie Harrington will join the BHA on January 4th after completing her notice period at British Cycling. Nick Rust continues to lead the BHA as it works with industry bodies on resumption and recovery. A revised industry plan is due to be published shortly.

Annamarie Phelps added:

“Nick and his team are working closely with the RCA and The Horsemen's Group to get racing through the next phase of COVID-19, to bring back the public, and support our owners and investors in the sport. There'll be no let-up over the coming months and the sport will see a seamless transition to our new CEO. I want to thank all those at the BHA and the industry bodies who are working so hard and I'm confident that racing will continue to lead the way towards a full resumption of sport.”

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British Horseracing Authority Updates Equine Anti-Doping Rules

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has confirmed a number of changes to its Equine Anti-Doping Rules this Wednesday, which will take effect from next month.

These changes follow a comprehensive review of the sport's anti-doping Rules announced in 2018, following a number of Disciplinary Panel cases which called into question the assumptions that had been made regarding the Rules and how they should be applied.

It was also felt that a review of these Rules would lead to them being made simpler to understand and follow, whilst ensuring they still protect those who work in, follow or bet on British Racing sufficiently from the threat of doping.

The BHA have consulted on both the Rules and associated penalties with directly with trainers and via the National Trainers Federation, with additional input from both the UK and World Anti-Doping Agencies and sports bodies such as the FEI.

Independent legal advice on Rule changes following on from the consultation has been provided by the specialist sports law practice, Northridge LLP.

The main changes to the Rules, which were last updated in 2015, relate to the circumstances in which the Responsible Person may be found in breach of the Rules but not be penalized when a case is heard in front of the independent Disciplinary Panel.

The new Rules do not require any changes to the processes or safeguards put in place by Trainers in their yards.

In summary the changes are:

If a horse tests positive for a prohibited substance, in order to avoid a penalty the responsible person must establish the precise source of the positive finding and that they had taken all reasonable precautions
Cautions are available for lower level breaches
Suspended sanctions are available for breaches

More information and the reasoning behind the changes can be read here. The new Rules and penalties can also be read in full by clicking “(Forthcoming)” on the BHA Rules website.

Tim Naylor, Director of Integrity and Regulation at the BHA, said:

“The culmination of this project has followed consultation with the appropriate parties as well as legal advice in relation to the Rule changes, and it is our hope that we now have a set of equine anti-doping Rules which are clear both for those who enforce them and those who are bound by them.

“We have to ensure that our Rules in relation to anti-doping are sufficiently robust, but also that as much as is possible in such a technical area everyone bound by the Rules understands what is required of them.

“Whilst in places the requirements upon the Responsible Person have been strengthened, there have also been changes to allow more appropriate penalties for lower and mid-level breaches of the Rules.

“We have communicated these changes now ahead of their implementation date next month to allow sufficient time for participants to ask any questions they may have prior to the Rules taking effect.”

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UK Equine Anti-Doping Rules Altered

A number of changes have been made to the equine anti-doping rules in the UK, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Wednesday. These changes have been made following a comprehensive review of the sport’s anti-doping rules announced in 2018. Individual trainers and the National Trainers Federation were consulted, with additional input from both the UK and World Anti-Doping Agencies and sports bodies such as the FEI. Northridge LLP, a specialist sports law practice, also provided independent legal advice on the rule changes. In summary, the changes, which will go into effect on Sept. 1, are as follows:

If a horse tests positive for a prohibited substance, in order to avoid a penalty the responsible person must establish the precise source of the positive finding and that they had taken all reasonable precautions
Cautions are available for lower level breaches
Suspended sanctions are available for breaches

More information and the reasoning behind the changes is available here. The new rules and penalties can also be viewed by clicking forthcoming on the www.rules.britishhorseracing.com website.

Tim Naylor, Director of Integrity and Regulation at the BHA, said, “The culmination of this project has followed consultation with the appropriate parties as well as legal advice in relation to the rule changes, and it is our hope that we now have a set of equine anti-doping rules which are clear both for those who enforce them and those who are bound by them.

“We have to ensure that our rules in relation to anti-doping are sufficiently robust, but also that as much as is possible in such a technical area everyone bound by the rules understands what is required of them. Whilst in places the requirements upon the responsible person have been strengthened, there have also been changes to allow more appropriate penalties for lower and mid-level breaches of the rules.

“We have communicated these changes now ahead of their implementation date next month to allow sufficient time for participants to ask any questions they may have prior to the rules taking effect.”

In response to these new changes, the National Trainers Federation released the following statement, which read in part: “Trainers have strict liability for the presence of prohibited substances in a horse’s system. In the light of Disciplinary Panel decisions since the cases that led to the BHA’s review, the NTF believes the existing equine anti-doping rules provide sufficient encouragement for compliance. In that context, the outcome of the BHA’s review into penalties in these cases is a mixed bag for trainers.

“The NTF is pleased that the BHA took on board the need to remove penalties where malicious administration could be proved. However, strict liability reverses the principle of “innocent until proved guilty” by putting the onus on the defendant to prove innocence – in this case by having to prove the precise source of the prohibited substance….

“To mitigate the burden of strict liability, the BHA and NTF have agreed restructured penalties. It is right that the Disciplinary Panel should have the option of cautioning a trainer instead of imposing a financial penalty (as required by the current rules), for the least culpable breaches.

“We disagree with the BHA about the minimum sanction of a suspended disqualification in addition to a financial penalty for the lowest level breach for substances prohibited at all times. If the Panel is satisfied the trainer had no knowledge of the substance’s administration and had taken reasonable precautions, a suspended disqualification is an unwarranted stain on the trainer’s reputation.”

To read the full NTF statement, click here.

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Kublers Become UK’s First Married Training Partnership

Daniel and Claire Kubler have become the first husband-and-wife team to be officially licenced as a training partnership in the UK following a change in the rules in May 2020.

Prior to that, a British training licence could only be held in one name but, following a Twitter plea to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) from the couple on International Women’s Day in March 2019, the rules were adjusted to follow countries such as Australia and France in allowing licences to be held in multiple names. Father-and-son partnerships Paul and Oliver Cole and Simon and Ed Crisford have already taken advantage of the new arrangement.

The Kublers, who train at Sarsen Farm in Lambourn under the name of Kubler Racing, announced on their website on Wednesday that Claire’s application had recently been approved by the BHA.

“We have always worked together, so it’s very much business as usual. We started out with just six horses and have grown the business to around 35 horses. Training winners is a team effort, a joint licence goes some way to reflecting that,” the statement read.

“We’ve been keen to operate as a training partnership since we started out. We floated the idea on social media and received a positive response that led to the BHA getting in touch. We worked closely with the BHA and the NTF to get the concept off the ground. We would particularly like to thank Henry Bradley at the BHA for going above and beyond to make this happen.”

Kubler Racing hopes to have a first runner for the new partnership at Ascot this weekend, where 2-year-old maiden winner Bowland Park (GB) (New Bay {GB}), who was bred and is owned by Claire’s parents Gary and Lesley Middlebrook, is set to contest the listed Pat Eddery S.

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