Relations between racing professionals and the sport’s ruling body have reached such a low ebb that a vote of no confidence in the British Horseracing Authority has been discussed among trainers. Nick Rust, the BHA’s chief executive, admitted as much in an email sent in January, and matters deteriorated further during last week’s Cheltenham Festival, when vociferous criticism was voiced by Sir Anthony McCoy among others.
Rust was emailed by a racing insider who suggested a vote of no confidence may be called in the following weeks. “I’ve heard that too,” wrote Rust in a reply seen by the Guardian, and added a warning. “It would be utter self-destruction if the ‘no confidence’ motion suggested (as I’ve heard today) abolition of the BHA and self-regulation by racing professionals. Government will intervene on our sport if that happens and the sport will lose control.”
One trainer has privately confirmed that a vote of no confidence was being discussed at the height of the row over prize money in recent weeks. Another said: “I hadn’t heard about a vote, but I have had that thought, that we should have one.”
The fact that a no-confidence vote has been contemplated at all underlines what one trainer refers to as “a fundamental disconnect” between the regulator and those it regulates, a division that became particularly apparent in the aftermath of Tuesday’s National Hunt Chase. It was a panel of stewards who made the controversial decision to suspend Declan Lavery for continuing on the tired Jerrysback but it was the BHA, employer of the stewards, at which most of the angry response was directed.
In other words, the complaints were not, as might have been expected, about four stewards making contentious use of a reasonable rule while under pressure on a busy day. Instead, they became the latest howl of protest from horsemen about a ruling body they have come to see as heavy-handed, unresponsive and out of touch with their concerns and the realities of their working life.
The news in racing this year has been dominated by stories that show officials to be on one page while horsemen are on another. The BHA had to postpone a new rule requiring all runners to wear hind shoes when, at the last moment, it turned out to be terribly unpopular with trainers, most of whom had not been consulted. Some never accepted the BHA needed to close racing down during the flu crisis, while others objected to the ramped-up vaccination rules when racing returned, rules introduced late one night, just hours after the trainers’ representative was told of them.
Other stewarding decisions have been provocative, notably the fine for trainer Henry Oliver when he waved his arms to encourage his horse forwards at the start. The jockey Charlie Bennett successfully challenged a 12-day careless riding ban which his trade association described as “palpably wrong”. Some link such controversies to the new stewarding model unveiled by the BHA in August. “Nobody wanted this, except the regulator,” says one trainer. “This was Nick’s campaign.”
Meanwhile, a letter from the trainer Henry Daly in Sunday’s Racing Post argued trainers should wrest control of matters related to horse welfare from the BHA. “The time has come for us all to take our lives and profession into our own hands rather than being led like lambs to the slaughter,” he wrote.
After McCoy vented on ITV last week, social media posts made it clear that his anger is widely shared in racing. “You can discuss whether the anger is justified,” said one BHA figure, “but it’s certainly there.”
Rust acknowledged as much during an appearance on Racing TV and promised the BHA would get better at consultation. But it is open to question whether he has the necessary diplomacy skills to smooth things over, given that he managed to upset Irish trainers and Times journalists with some on-air asides. He denied blaming the National Trainers Federation for failures in past consultations, but later said: “We expect that when we go to the NTF, they should consult.”
“We’re not an unapproachable organisation,” Rust said. “We’re not the Stasi either.” But he also complained of the language used by BHA critics, saying: “In other sports they’d be brought in for disrepute.” It was a combative, inflammatory interview, reducing hope of peace breaking out in racing any time soon.
Southwell 2.00 Briac 2.30 Savello 3.05 Bold Reason 3.35 Accordingtogino 4.05 The Dawn Man 4.35 Destinys Choice
Exeter 2.10 Arqalina (nap) 2.40 Geordie B 3.15 Haldon Hill (nb) 3.45 Dostal Phil 4.15 Grey Atlantic Way 4.45 Hands Of Stone 5.15 Snuff Box 5.45 Diplomate Sivola
Plumpton 2.20 Dream Machine 2.50 The Cull Bank 3.25 Graasten 3.55 Good Impression 4.25 Le Capricieux 4.55 Get Up Them Steps
Tips by Chris Cook
