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Industry People Board Members And Programme Director Confirmed By BHA

Eight Industry People Board (IPB) members and an IPB Programme Director were confirmed by the IPB Board Chair Neil Hayward on Wednesday.

Initiated and funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) and the Racing Foundation, the Board's aim is to deliver an industry-wide people strategy. The Board consists of the following individuals:

Rob Hezel, Chief Executive, The Racing Foundation
Daniel Kübler, Racehorse Trainer, Kübler Racing
George McGrath, Chief Executive, National Association of Racing Staff
Neil Robertson, Chief Executive, National Skills Academy for Rail
Tom Scudamore, former professional Jump jockey
Helene Sharrock, Chief People Officer, The Jockey Club
Julia Tyson, former Chief HR Officer, Lloyds of London
Tallulah Wilson, Head of International Partnerships, UK Tote Group.

The Board met for the first time on Wednesday. They will be supported by Programme Director Lucy Attwood, who joins from Godolphin, where she was Head of Human Resources.

Neil Hayward said, “I am delighted and enormously excited that we have been able to recruit Board members of such a high calibre and with great diversity of talent, skill and professional experience.

“The People Board has a critical role to play in planning and coordinating a bold, viable and sustainable plan to future-proof British racing's workforce. Assembling a team of this quality is an important step in this process.

“Our aim was to attract a strong collective, with knowledge of and experience in the racing industry, together with deep understanding and expertise in key areas like human resources, diversity and inclusion, education and employment and strategic leadership.

“Above all, we wanted a group of people who were passionate about racing and seeing racing's people flourish–and I believe we have achieved that in abundance.

“Lucy is a highly experienced HR professional who has a strong and demonstrable track record of planning and delivering people strategies for some major employers, most recently during her 10 years with Godolphin.

“She will be a big asset as we embark on this immensely challenging but also hugely exciting endeavour–and I look forward to us working closely together as we seek to achieve the industry's collective aspirations for a happy, thriving and sustainable workforce.”

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‘Small Adjustments’ Made To Whip Rules After Consult With Jockeys By BHA

A selection of small adjustments have been introduced to the new whip rules, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced on Thursday.

There has been ongoing communication between the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA), senior jockeys under both codes and the BHA, and the rule adjustments are the result.

“We are very grateful to the PJA and to our jockeys, both for the manner in which they continue to adapt to riding under the new rules, and their constructive engagement with the process which has helped bring about these further improvements,” said Brant Dunshea, Chief Regulatory Officer for the BHA. “We will continue to liaise with the PJA and jockeys as we continue the roll-out and embedding of the new rules.”

As a result of this constructive dialogue and the BHA's monitoring of bedding-in period and implementation, the changes are below:

Repeat Offences:

The repeat offenses rule has been change so that Any jockey will be referred to the Independent Judicial Panel following their third above permitted level-only offence within a six-month period.
However, a jockey will not be referred to the Independent Judicial Panel after just three 'technical' offences.
Instead, once a jockey commits five offences of any type (this can be a combination of above permitted level and other misuse offences) within a six-month period they will be referred to the Independent Judicial Panel.
Should a jockey be referred for either three above permitted level offences or five offences of any type, then these offences drop off their referral record so a jockey cannot be referred twice for the same offence

Suspension dates: All suspensions imposed by the WRC should start 14-days from its written decision. Having been through the bedding-in period, and with suspensions now being imposed, the PJA and its members have asked to have the option to serve a suspension as if imposed by stewards on a raceday. Therefore, jockeys in receipt of a notice of suspension from the WRC will now have the option of requesting that the suspension commences 14 days after the date of the referral by the stewards, should they not wish to appeal the penalty. Otherwise the suspension will be served 14 days from the date of the WRC decision.
Riding fees: The rule has now been changed such that should a rider be disqualified from a race due to excessive use of the whip they will also forfeit their riding fee.
Whip Review Committee meetings: The Whip Review Committee (WRC) will now switch to meeting twice a week rather than once, with meet rides considered: Tuesday, Previous Thursday – Sunday and Friday, Previous Monday – Wednesday.
Without regard to stride: References to the misuse offence 'Without Regard to Stride' (double strike) have been removed from the Whip Guidance. Offences of this nature will now instead be categorised as Without Time to Respond.

For more information, please visit the BHA website.

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Additional Changes To UK Flat Programme Announced By BHA FPC

Following ratification by the European Pattern Committee (EPC), there are several additional changes to the UK 2023 Flat Pattern and listed race programme, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) Flat Pattern Committee (FPC) announced on Wednesday.

The following races have been repositioned or relocated within the existing programme to help achieve a better spread of black-type opportunities in the relevant age and distance categories in 2023:

Listed Abingdon S. (10f, 3yo, f, early June), previously run at Newbury, will now take place at Goodwood on Sunday, June 11 and be run as the Listed Agnes Keyser S. (10f, 3yo, f) with a prize fund of £70,000
Listed Tapster S. (1m 3f 218y, 4yo+) will also be run at Goodwood on Sunday, June 11, rather than in late May, and will also offer prizemoney of £70,000, to mirror that of the Agnes Keyser
Listed Cathedral S. (6f, 3yo+) at Salisbury will move to Saturday, May 27 (previously mid-June)
Listed Stonehenge S. (8f, 2yo) at Salisbury will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 16 (a race which was otherwise due to be run in early September in 2023)

These adjustments follow the reduction of Group 3 and listed races announced earlier this year.

BHA Director of International Racing and Racing Development, Ruth Quinn, said, “The tactical adjustments announced today will help see that races are spaced more appropriately–providing a more balanced spread and volume of opportunities for connections at optimal times in the calendar, and supporting the shorter-term objectives of enhancing the competitiveness of Pattern and listed contests in 2023.

“On behalf of the FPC, I would like to thank Goodwood and Salisbury–and other racecourses with whom we work closely through these processes–for their support and cooperation with implementing these adjustments and with the industry's ongoing efforts to refine and strengthen the British Pattern.”

Edward Arkell, Director of Racing at Goodwood, said, “Goodwood is delighted to be hosting The Weatherbys Digital Solutions Agnes Keyser S. on the same card as the William Hill Tapster S. to provide a high class Sunday in June.

“We are grateful for Weatherbys sponsorship and the support of the Flat Pattern Committee in allocating us this race as part of Goodwood's continued commitment to the top end of British racing.”

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Penalties Tweaked Ahead of New Whip Rule Deployment

The previously announced new whip regulations will go into force on Monday, but the way penalties are calculated has been “marginally adjusted” according to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

Following feedback from jockeys, there were further amendments to the rules, and the bedding in period for jumps racing was extended by a week.

Under the new regulations, use of the whip in the forehand position will be allowed, with the BHA having reversed a previous decision to ban it after riders' objections. However, use of the whip has been reduced to six and seven strikes over the Flat and Jumps races, respectively.

The penalty structure was also strengthened, with the very worst whip offences potentially resulting in disqualification of horses and riding bans of 20 days–a tariff which will be doubled in Class 1 and 2 races.

In its latest update, the BHA confirmed only offences for use of the whip above the permitted level will be doubled and not offences for use above shoulder height. A tweak to how offences are aggregated where multiple offences are committed in the same ride has also been made.

In a statement, the BHA said, “The rules being implemented on Monday are the result of a detailed consultation process designed to foster more considered and judicious use of the whip.”

“They are being introduced after an extensive bedding-in period which has successfully allowed jockeys and officials to familiarise themselves with the new rules and guidance and identify where improvements can be made to their implementation, or where some jockeys might need to adapt their riding style. This was the purpose of the bedding-in period.”

“We are grateful for the input of the PJA (Professional Jockeys Association), NTF (National Trainers Federation) and a number of senior riders and trainers and we have now reached a position where the new rules and guidance will be implemented in the manner in which they were intended.”

“We were pleased to note jockeys stating that the responsibility now rests on them to ride within the new rules and adapt their riding style where necessary. We have already seen this happening during the bedding-in period, for which jockeys deserve great credit.”

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