The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced that Julie Harrington will step down as CEO after four years in the position.
Harrington’s tenure will formally wrap up at the tip of 2024. She agreed to cease on till the tip of the Three hundred and sixty five days to support the transition to a recent CEO.
One day of her time in the position, Harrington oversaw a different of adjustments for the period of the BHA and wider British horseracing. This included garnering support for British horseracing’s lengthy-time period business approach and dealing to development its other folks approach. With the other folks approach, Harrington launched the Horseracing Commerce Of us Board.
This development, Harrington acknowledged, is why now feels love the honest time to crawl away her position as CEO.
“With so noteworthy now in space to like and develop the business approach, which is in a location to bag a brighter future for British horseracing, it felt love the honest time to switch on and let someone else steer the sport thru its next thrilling fragment,” she outlined.
“It has been a tall privilege to lead the BHA one day of what has been a period of precise change as the sport has developed and applied shared ideas for a sustainable future and a functionality to communicate with one united insist.”
Harrington added that she is elated with how a ways the business has come, particularly in relation to horseracing’s governance approach. This approach became agreed upon in November 2022 and alive to rearranging the BHA’s corporate governance agreements. It paved the model for the business option to be applied.
“I admire working in horseracing; it is a ways an improbable sport to be focused on,” she persisted.
“I’m elated with the event the business has made over the past three years, especially in bettering the governance structure and I’m hoping that racing’s stakeholders will continue to work together cooperatively to diagram contemporary audiences, extra increase the consumer abilities and develop the sport.”
BHA chair Joe Saumarez Smith furthermore provocative on
As for her next steps, Harrington acknowledged she would possible switch to a non-govt position.
Alongside the announcement of Harrington’s departure, the BHA furthermore announced that Joe Saumarez Smith will almost definitely be stepping down as chair. Smith’s time as chair will come to an halt in Would possibly perhaps 2025. The route of to come by his replace began final month.
Harrington illustrious that her resignation enables the nomination committee to organise a refined handover. Moreover to, this can allow Smith’s replace to partake in the final levels of CEO recruitment.
Smith acknowledged that Harrington’s tenure had been influential for both the BHA and British horseracing.
“One day of Julie’s tenure we have fully changed the governance of the sport and the BHA’s position within it,” he acknowledged. “Her influencing abilities, in total at the support of the scenes, were key to that vary and furthermore in the certain adjustments made to the Gambling Act white paper that posed the kind of threat to our sport.”
When the Gambling Act review white paper became printed in April final Three hundred and sixty five days, the BHA became in most cases certain about the insurance policies included. Harrington pointed to the confirmation of a review of the horseracing having a bet levy as a highlight.
Nonetheless, at the origin of Would possibly perhaps, Harrington expressed warning all around the affordability checks pilot announced by the GB Gambling Charge. The pilot will allow the Charge to take a look at whether it’ll “refine the information sharing processes before assessments are rolled out in a are living ambiance”. This would perhaps presumably final for six months.