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Truth To Power Series Continues March 17 With Renee Hess, Ron Mack, Leon Nichols

The Racing Biz, LLC, a media company focused on Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the mid-Atlantic region, will host the second in a series of digital panel discussions designed to tackle issues of diversity and inclusion within the Thoroughbred industry on March 17 at 5 p.m. ET.

The series, titled “Truth to Power,” was created by The Racing Biz founder Frank Vespe in partnership with freelance journalist Teresa Genaro and NTRA Director of Communications Alicia Hughes for the purpose of bringing together participants from the racing realm and other sports to share their perspectives on racial, gender, and social inequality within their respective industries and the importance of and efforts to promote greater inclusion.

The upcoming panel is set to feature Renee Hess, founder and executive director of Black Girl Hockey Club (BGHC), a non-profit and advocacy group focused on making hockey more inclusive for the Black community; Ron Mack, founder of Legacy Equine Academy, which promotes the equine and agriculture industry to racially diverse middle and high school students; and Leon Nichols, CEO and founder of the Louisville-based Project to Preserve African American Turf History.

“We are so pleased our first panel attracted an active viewership who contributed questions and comments, and we are very much appreciative of the media coverage that followed,” Vespe, Genaro, and Hughes said jointly. “We look forward to more impactful conversations as the series moves forward.”

The first “Truth to Power” panel took place on February 24 and featured noted bloodstock agent Greg Harbut, his business partner, Lexington-based entrepreneur Ray Daniels, and Rose Grissell, head of Diversity and Inclusion for the British Horseracing Authority. An archive of that panel can be found here.

The March 17 panel will be streamed on both The Racing Biz website and social media platforms @TheRacingBiz as well as on the NTRA's Twitter account @NTRA.

Tentative dates for future panels include April 7 at 5 p.m. ET.

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Diversity In Racing: Panel Examines How The Sport Is Doing, Where It Can Improve

As discussions about improving diversity and inclusion continue in a range of sports and businesses, The Racing Biz debuted its first in a series of panels last week addressing the subject in horse racing. The 'Truth to Power' series is a cooperative effort between the trade publication and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

The first panel was anchored by The Racing Biz owner/publisher Frank Vespe and featured writer Teresa Genaro, NTRA director of communications Alicia Hughes, owner Ray Daniels and horseman/bloodstock agent Greg Harbut. It also featured clips from a pre-recorded conversation between Vespe and Rose Grissell, head of diversity and Inclusion for the British Horseracing Authority, about strategies to improve diversity across the pond.

Catch a full replay of the panel discussion here. A few key takeaways:

Many point to the number of female or non-white exercise riders, jockeys, and assistant trainers working in racing as evidence that the sport doesn't have a problem with diversity and inclusion. That doesn't really hold up, panelists say, because senior management and boards of companies, racing commissions, and other groups are still almost entirely made up of white men, with limited exceptions. Hughes pointed out that at the time of the panel, there had been eight public announcements about hiring or promotion of upper-level staff at racetracks since Nov. 30. All eight were white men. No doubt, Hughes said, they were well qualified for their roles, but that doesn't do much for those companies' assertion that they prioritize diversity and inclusion.
Often, this homogeneity is explained as institutions simply “hiring the best person for the job.”“That is either ignorant or just deliberately obtuse because it suggests from the get-go that the most qualified person for the job is a white man,” said Genaro.
“When you talk about embracing diversity and your practices don't line up with it, it makes me question – what are your hiring practices?” echoed Hughes. “Where are you advertising these jobs? Are you advertising these jobs? How many people were interviewed? How many people from diverse backgrounds were interviewed? How many people of color were interviewed? I have a hard time, both in my lived experience and my research, finding tangible evidence that these organizations are backing up their statements with action.”
By contrast, Grissell said British sports organizations funded by the government are required to have at least 30 percent female participation on their boards.
Prioritizing diversity at the upper levels of an organization or business does a few things. It attempts to level the playing field to make sure traditionally underrepresented groups are getting a fair shot at advancement. It signals to women and minorities that they are valued by that business. It also helps the business improve its internal and external communications to be more appealing to a broader range of people.Harbut pointed out that that public relations aspect is important, because racing needs all the help it can get to grow right now. If nothing else, reaching out to new demographics is just good business.
“It's no secret the industry is struggling right now to attract new fans … you don't see the younger generation embrace racing the way they do in Lexington,” said Harbut.
Passively allowing people of all backgrounds to attend racing doesn't mean they're going to feel comfortable or interested in doing so.“We're simply not engaging with certain groups of the population in the UK, whether that's through perception or the reality of barriers,” said Grissell. “Our marketing and media presents racing in a certain way which could potentially be seen as exclusive to some. I think we can't be naïve or even arrogant enough to think just because we've opened the doors, people are going to walk in. We have to show them why racing is a sport for them.”
Hughes pointed out the struggles and triumphs of NASCAR as an example to horse racing. NASCAR had similar issues to horse racing with declining ratings and a homogenous fan base. When the sport banned the Confederate flag at its tracks and supported a driver who was initially thought to be the target of a racially-motivated hate crime, Hughes said the organization lost a few fans – but it gained many more. Its actions also generated national attention that led high profile personalities like Michael Jordan and Pitbull to begin investing as owners.
If you're watching the diversity and inclusion conversation with interest and thinking about improving policies in your company, panelists urge you – hire a professional diversity training service to help you. Too often, the burden of organizing new programs in this subject area falls to a junior member of staff because they are female or BIPOC and assumed to be subject matter experts. The problem with that is that building new company policy, marketing, staff training, etc., quickly becomes a time-consuming unpaid task for that staff member.

See the full panel replay here.

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The Racing Biz Virtual Series to Focus on Industry-wide Racial and Social Issues

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 National Thoroughbred Racing Association 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 Feb. 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 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.

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.

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‘Truth To Power’: Racing Biz Launches Virtual Series On Race, Social Justice In Thoroughbred Industry

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 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.

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