SPORT 116 (1^ST MAY 2021.)

Not so long ago Mr Rust (BHA Chief Exec) and Mrs Phelps (BHA Chairperson) announced  that the Kingsclere Apprentice Academy was violating human rights, because the management was taking too much of the income generated by its apprentices on the racecourse.  They said that the rights of young people in racing are of paramount importance and that this violation could easily be put right by adjusting the “split.” Simple mathematics, according to Mr Rust, and the re-adjustment was implemented.

Since then, as a result or a consequence (or was it sheer coincidence?)  the racing press and the BHA’s news bulletins have been full of items suggesting that racing’s young innocents are nowadays investing more and more of their spare cash in cocaine. Oh dear!

I mention this unpleasantness not because I wish to jeer at the parties responsible but because it is a perfect example of good intentions plus lack of knowledge and a reluctance to take advice, which is the BHA all over – and it needs to change.

Am I right in thinking that “dissent” is not allowed to feature in the decision-making  process of the Board? If so, it will probably reduce “boardroom rows”, but may also intensify the “permafrost” which seems to restrict the BHA’s attempts to get things right. I seem to remember trainer Mark Johnston resigning from the Board because he was not comfortable accepting decisions with which he didn’t agree. I do not know Mr Johnston, but his career reveals that, apart from being a very successful trainer, he has also done wonders for the racing industry in the north.  Any boardroom row created by Mr Johnston would almost certainly be a step in the right direction. But that is another story…. No, it isn’t. It’s the same old problem.

The better news is that the BHA now has a Chief Executive (Julie Harrington) who really does know the racing business extremely well. She is a former member of the BHA Board and was a senior executive with Northern Racing for eight years, including a spell as managing Director of Uttoxeter Racecourse.

She responded to her selection as follows: “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.”

Perhaps she will have a look at a situation which has been “permafrosted”  since 2003. That was the year when I first drew the attention of the racing authorities (the Jockey Club, at that time) to the fact that big-field-starting under NH rules was a mess. I expressed the view that, in the absence of fairness and safety in starting procedures (the state of affairs which applied to big-field NH starts, and still does) a racing industry could not be considered Top Class, or even Second Class. In any competitive sport starting is vital – end of story.

I wasn’t criticising starting in general. 90 percent of British starts (flat and jumping) were, and still are, superbly managed by starters and the starting work force. My criticism was limited to Big Field Starting under NH rules. However I drew attention to the fact that, though the number of “big field” races is small, it includes many of the most prestigious and most valuable races in the Calendar. My other point is this: if British racing can maintain the best possible standards in managing 90 percent of starts, how on earth can it sit back and do nothing about the fact that the other ten percent are a horror story – and have been for 18 years? How long? 18 years.

Most of the damage was done by Raceday Regulator Jamie Stier, who knew nothing and listened to no one. His solution was the Rolling Maul, a close-packed scrum which went round and round in circles getting hotter and hotter and faster and faster with each rotation. When the tapes went up half the field couldn’t see the first obstacle (which was a bit of a problem) and half the field were so far behind that they might just as well have stayed at home.

The most recent chapter in this particular story is painful to recall, but sometimes the pain of revelation must be endured. It just so happened that two new officers were added to the BHA payroll comparatively recently, both imported from foreign lands and with no experience of British jump racing. The starting process was part of their responsibility.  I advised them of the problem with big-field-starting and sent them the formula for a process that was foolproof.  I was assured that they were planning a three-month trial period which would put things right in double quick time. It didn’t. It made things worse.

1.55       24 runners         False Start

2.30       11 runners         False Start

3.40       23 runners         False Start

4.15       15 runners         False Start

The above taken from my notebook for 18^th March 2021 (Cheltenham Festival).

As far as I know no further improvements are in the pipeline.

Let’s not despair. British racing is chockfull of stars under the headings Owners, Breeders, Trainers, Jockeys, Stablemen and Women, and several million dedicated fans. That is the fact of the matter, and it is true in spite of the recent loss of Prince Khalid Abdullah, Britain’s best friend and greatest benefactor in the world of sport, who played the Thoroughbred game with such wisdom and such success and such charm.

Britain’s weak link is the BHA. Wouldn’t it be nice if it were to join the rest of the industry and wake its ideas up?

Best wishes,

Donec