Jim McGrath, Managing Director of Timeform and Channel 4 Racing broadcaster, has been nominated as an Independent Director of the British Horseracing Board, once the new structure of the BHB Board has been ratified.
McGrath would join Baroness Mallalieu as the second Independent BHB Director, in addition to the Chairman. It is anticipated that the restructuring of the Board, which entails a reduction of sectional interests and increase in independent and executive representation, will take place in September 2004.
BHB Chairman Martin Broughton said today: “Jim McGrath is an individual of outstanding calibre, who will make an invaluable contribution to BHB’s decision-making process. As British Racing continues to modernise, it is our duty to ensure that the interests of all the sport’s customers are taken into account, and the Board’s Independent Directors will play a large part in this.”
Commenting on his nomination by the BHB Nominations and Remunerations Committee as the second Independent Director, Jim McGrath said: “I am delighted to have been nominated as an Independent Director of BHB. These are exciting times for the sport, and The Modernisation of British Racing represents a strong blueprint for further progress. I hope I can use my experience within Racing to help it achieve further gains and prosperity.”
BHB Chief Executive Greg Nichols added: “Jim is renowned for his objectivity and integrity across the wide spectrum of our industry, and will undoubtedly bring a fresh angle to Board discussions with his forward thinking. He has a comprehensive knowledge of our sport, and respect for its history and traditions. Jim’s nomination as an Independent Director is great news, and he should help to ensure that British Racing continues to go from strength to strength.”
For further information, please contact BHB Communications Executive Will Lambe on 020 7343 3335 or 07816 914409.
Notes
1. Jim McGrath, 49, is Managing Director of the Timeform Organisation, which he joined after leaving school in 1974. A member of the Channel 4 Racing team, he has worked regularly on racing television since 1981. He has sat on BHB’s Jump Racing Advisory Panel since BHB’s inception and, earlier this year, stepped down after a lengthy spell as a Member of the Horserace Writers and Photographers’ Association Committee. He is a successful breeder and owner, who currently has interests in horses in training with James Given, Sylvester Kirk, Jamie Osborne and Jonjo O’Neill.
2. The plans for the restructuring of the BHB Board are laid out in The Modernisation of British Racing, and form part of the key changes to the financial, administrative and governance of the sport that brought about the recent agreement with the Office of Fair Trading.
3. The Modernisation of British Racing can be downloaded in full from https://www.britishhorseracing.com/inside_horseracing/about/reports.asp.
