Updates
Racing updates Industry statistics
Updates
Racing updates Industry statistics

Board and Executive

The main role of the BHA’s Board is to provide strategic leadership and direction, and assist the Executive in delivering the BHA’s six strategic objectives. The Board is comprised of ten Directors and meets eight times per year.

Click to view BHA memorandum and articles of association

Click to view Register of Directors’ Interests

Summary Board minutes

At the BHA Board meeting in January 2020, it was agreed that summary minutes for BHA Board meetings should be published on the BHA website. Please click HERE to view summary minutes for BHA board meetings.

Members’ Committee Minutes

The Members’ Committee, a tripartite industry committee, is responsible for high-level strategic decisions for the sport. Click HERE to see minutes of Members Committee meetings.

Joe Saumarez Smith
Chair

Joe is CEO of Sports Gaming Limited, a London-based management consultancy to the gaming industry, and has for the past 20 years plus advised and worked closely with lotteries, governments, investment banks and operating companies on strategy, operational restructuring, finance and merger and acquisition.

He is also chairman of Bede Gaming, a leading technology supplier to operators and lotteries which is based in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and other international regulatory bodies. He also chairs Eyas Gaming, a joint venture with Gauselmann Group, focussed on the recently regulated German gaming market.

Joe is the Chair of British racing’s Gambling Strategy Group and has played a prominent role in matters relating to betting and the Levy. He also sits as a BHA representative on the Board of Racing Digital, which is leading the digital transformation of the sport.

An alumnus of the Jockey Club Graduate Programme in 1991, he has been an avid follower of the horseracing industry since the age of eight and has visited more than 200 tracks around the world. He has written extensively about horseracing and gambling for a variety of publications and has owned shares in more than 80 horses. He currently has horses in training with Ralph Beckett, Martin Keighley, Joseph O’Brien, Stuart Williams and Tim Vaughan.

Julie Harrington
Chief Executive

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.

David Jones
Regulatory Independent Non-Executive Director

David has an in-depth knowledge of the racing industry and its racing regulation from his 10 years as a Steward and three years as a member of the Racecourse Committee at Kempton Park, as well as through previous racehorse ownerships.

David is the BHA’s Senior Independent Director (SID). He has also carried out important project work on behalf of the sport in recent years, covering topics such as the sport’s resumption and recovery from coronavirus, and the development of a new stewarding model.

David is also a member of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s New Competition Board and has worked extensively with the Head of The Hundred – Women’s Competition. Much of his Executive career was spent in senior roles at Waitrose and John Lewis, where he became an Elected Director of the Board and President of the John Lewis Partnership Council, as well as the Board Ally of the LGBT+ Group.

Laura Whyte
Independent Non-Executive Director

Laura has had a highly successful career with the John Lewis Partnership. She was on the John Lewis Management Board for 10 years during which she saw the business grow from 22,000 to 34,000 employees and a turnover of £4.1 billion, most recently in the role of Human Resources Director. Prior to taking the role of Human Resources Director Laura also took on the role of Divisional Registrar; a board role unique to the Partnership, with the aim of delivering an objective, independent view and providing assurance to the Partnership Board that employees were appropriately supported, that their views were reflected in decision-making and that governance within John Lewis was correctly exercised. Laura also worked with the British Equine Federation as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of their Remuneration Committee between 2013 and 2016. Laura has considerable Non-Executive Director experience, including on the Defence People and Training Board within the Ministry of Defence, is a Board member of Capital and Regional plc where she also Chairs the Responsible Business Committee and is a Trustee of Women in Retail. Laura is a keen horsewoman, and has owned her own horses for fifteen years. Her pro bono activities are equine related and include advising the Ebony Horse Club in Brixton, giving her experience of a wide range of equine issues and understanding of related governance in charitable and governing body sectors.

David Armstrong
Member Nominated Director

David joined the Racecourse Association as Chief Executive in February 2019 after working with Wasps Holdings as Group Chief Executive and leading the club in the acquisition of its new home in Coventry. Prior to his time with Wasps, David undertook senior positions with PepsiCo, Compass Group, Diageo and Lonrho, providing a broad overview of global leisure and retail markets.  David remains a Non-Executive Director of Wasps and is Chairman of Pentathlon GB.  David has enjoyed time as a racehorse owner having had horses in training with William Muir, the most successful of which, Countless Times, enjoyed a double success at Lingfield Park.

Charlie Parker
Member Nominated Director

Charlie Parker owns and manages Crimbourne Bloodstock, a privately-run stud business. A chartered accountant by profession, Charlie’s commercial business career was in membership-based health and fitness businesses and commercial golf courses. Charlie has broad commercial and financial experience including property development, insurance and leisure businesses.

He has been an owner for over 25 years with both flat and national hunt horses. He lives in Lambourn with his wife and two daughters at Windsor House Stables, the base of trainer Roger Teal and previously used by Peter Walwyn and Nicky Henderson. Charlie has been elected as President of the ROA for a three-year term starting on 30 June 2020.

Raj Parker
Regulatory Independent Non-Executive Director

Raj has had significant experience in integrity and governance issues for sporting institutions, is a Senior Adviser at the Financial Conduct Authority and has handled many investigations involving integrity issues.

Outside of sport he has undertaken judicial roles in criminal trials and financial services cases.

Luca Cumani
Member Nominated Director

Luca Cumani retired in December 2018 as one of British Racing’s leading trainers, having enjoyed global success for over 40 years. Born and raised in Italy, Luca came to England in the 1970’s as assistant trainer to Henry Cecil before purchasing the historic Bedford House Stables where he continued to train from until his retirement.

Luca has successfully nurtured the careers of many great racehorses, winning numerous Group and Classic races both at home and abroad, including The Derby with Kahyasi in 1988 and High Rise, ten years later.  He won the 1984 St Leger with Commanche Run.  Falbrav won five Group Ones before being narrowly defeated in the Breeders Cup Turf.  Luca also won the 1998 Oaks d’Italia with Zomaradah, the dam of Dubawi.   Barathea won the Irish 2000 Guineas and the 1994 Breeders Cup Mile at Churchill Downs.   He also trained Tolomeo who was the first European winner of the Arlington Million in 1983.

Since retiring from training, Luca and his wife Sara have focussed on their breeding operation at Fittocks Stud.

Wilf Walsh
Member Nominated Director

Wilf was appointed as Chair of the Racecourse Association in October 2021. His other senior positions within racing include directorships at Great British Racing and as Senior Independent Director of The Racing Authority during its formative stage in 2018.

He was previously CEO of Carpetright plc before becoming Chair of the Group business, Nestware Holdings. Prior to that he was Chair of Fortuna Entertainment Group as well as being with the Gala Coral Group for fifteen years as Managing Director and a Non-Executive Director. He graduated in Law at the University of Leeds.

Wilf is a shareholder in various bloodstock businesses and an owner with several horses in training

Ruth Quinn
Director of International Racing and Racing Development

Ruth Quinn was appointed the British Horseracing Authority’s Director of International Racing and Racing Development in July 2015, having previously held the post of Racing Director.

She represents BHA/British Racing with overseas racing authorities on matters relating to the international race programme, international racing development, international handicapping, and the overall management of BHA’s complex relationships with its international partners and counterparts.  Ruth is a keen rider, particularly enjoying working closely with and bringing on young racehorses.

Richard Wayman
Chief Operating Officer

Richard joined the BHA at the beginning of 2016 as Chief Operations Officer, with responsibility for the racing, handicapping, finance, information technology and programme management teams. He has a lifelong interest in racing and, having taken part in the Jockey Club Graduate Development programme, began his career as an odds compiler with William Hill. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant working for PricewaterhouseCoopers, he became Finance Director at the British Racing School before joining the British Horseracing Board as Assistant Racing Director in 2004. He was appointed Chief Executive of the Racehorse Owners Association in 2012 and, as part of this role, became Secretary of the Horsemen’s Group and a Director of Racing Enterprises Limited and British Champions Series.

Racing interests: Richard has horses in training with Chris Wall.

Catherine Beloff
Director of Legal and Governance

Catherine was appointed as the BHA’s Director of Legal and Governance in September 2016, having joined the BHA as Head of Legal – Governance in November 2015. Catherine is responsible for all aspects of the BHA’s general legal counsel, company secretariat, corporate governance and data protection. Prior to joining the BHA, Catherine was a senior member of the DLA Piper sports team for 10 years. Catherine has extensive experience of advising sports governing bodies and rights owners in relation to contentious issues connected with sport, both regulatory and commercial, in proceedings in the High Court and before international and domestic sports disciplinary and arbitral tribunals. She also specialises in Intellectual Property litigation, particularly in relation to sport and media bodies. Catherine is a Director of the British Association for Sport and Law.

Brant Dunshea
Chief Regulatory Officer

Brant was appointed Chief Regulatory Officer in April 2018, having previously been in the post of Director of Integrity and Regulatory Operations since September 2016, and having joined the BHA as Head of Raceday Operations in March 2015.

Brant is an experienced administrator and regulator having held various senior roles within racing-related industries in Britain and Australia over the past 20 years.  As Chief Regulatory Officer, his reports include the Director of Equine Health and Welfare, the Chief Medical Advisor, Director of Integrity and Regulation and the Head of Stewarding.  He also has accountability for integrity, licensing and anti-doping, as well as managing the team of equine welfare and integrity officers and overriding responsibility for the judges, starters, clerks of scales, racecourse and inspectors of courses, and the BHA’s role in liaison with the Point to Point, Arab Racing and Pony Racing Authorities.

Prior to joining the BHA, Brant was Chief Operating Officer (2010-2014) with Harness Racing Victoria with overall management responsibility for all Integrity and Racing Regulatory functions. Brant also holds a Bachelor of Legal Studies (Victoria University) and Graduate Diploma Sports Law (University of Melbourne), where he specialised in International Sports Law and Racing Industry Law & Regulation.

James Given
Director of Equine Health and Welfare

James qualified as a vet in 1990 and began his racing career as Assistant Trainer to Mark Johnston in 1995. After three years in this job he won a scholarship to study training methods in Dubai. James started training in his own right in November 1998 from a yard based at Wolverhampton racecourse. In April 1999 he moved his operation to his current base in Lincolnshire.

He is a Group-race-winning trainer both in Britain and abroad and counts amongst his most notable winners the popular Hugs Dancer who won the 2002 Ebor and 2003 Chester Cup, and was beaten only two lengths in the 2003 Caulfield Cup before a top 10 finish in the Melbourne Cup that year.

James is also a long-standing member of the BHA’s Ethics Committee (and is the current Chair) as well as a Trustee of the British Racing School (BRS). He has also been a member of the industry’s Horse Welfare Board since its inception in early 2019. In February 2020, the Welfare Board published its five-year strategic plan for the welfare of horses bred for racing.

Alison Enticknap
Interim Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs

Alison Enticknap took up the post as BHA Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs in October 2021 on an interim basis, having joined the BHA as Head of Stakeholder and Internal Communications in 2018.

The Communications and Corporate Affairs function includes media relations, digital communications, corporate affairs, political liaison, and stakeholder and internal communications.

Before joining the BHA, Alison held the position of Head of Communications at the RSPB. Prior to that, Alison was Head of Media & External Relations for the Natural History Museum and held media and communications roles at T-Mobile, Powergen, and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Alongside studying for a PhD in Government, she began her working life as a policy advisor and lecturer.

Tim Naylor
Director of Integrity and Regulation

Tim joined the BHA permanently as Head of Regulation in March 2017, having previously held that position on an interim basis. Prior to that he was a Barrister at QEB Hollis Whiteman Chambers in London, where he was instructed by the BHA on a number of Disciplinary Panel  and Licensing Committee cases from 2013 onwards.

Tim is responsible for managing the BHA’s integrity, disciplinary and compliance functions with oversight of  licensing, monitoring and investigations as well as the case management of matters which go before the independent Judicial Panel.

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