A lunch at the Cheltenham Festival and “inaccuracies” in his initial account of it appeared to have cost Steve Harman, the British Horseracing Authority’s chairman, his job on Tuesday, following weeks of speculation that his position was under threat due to growing tension between the chairman and some members of the BHA’s board.
A statement issued by the BHA on Tuesday afternoon said Harman will step down in November to take up a “new industry-wide role”, with a focus on mitigating the possible impact of last week’s announcement that the maximum stake on high-street FOBT machines will be cut to £2.
However, persistent rumours have suggested that Harman’s position was in doubt after two meetings between the BHA chairman and Alex Frost, the chief executive of the Alizeti consortium which is in the process of investing as much as £150m in the Tote’s pool-betting operation.¬
Harman was the host of a table where Frost had lunch on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, and he then introduced Frost to Matthew Hancock, the culture secretary, before the Gold Cup later in the week. The Tote’s seven-year legal monopoly on pool betting in Britain will expire in July, when it will face competition from Britbet, a rival pool-betting operation which has been set up by 55 of Britain’s 59 racecourses.
Harman’s meeting with Frost led to a complaint of a possible conflict of interest and, while a subsequent investigation determined that no such conflict had occurred, what are described by the BHA as “inaccuracies” in the chairman’s initial account of the meetings to the board appear to be behind his departure from a position he has held since July 2013.
Ayr 2.00 Two Blondes 2.30 Be Bold 3.05 Star Cracker 3.35 Club Wexford 4.05 Tanasoq 4.35 Company Asset 5.05 Thorntoun Care 5.40 Monsieur Jimmy
Warwick 2.10 Dead Right 2.40 Black Sam Bella 3.15 Sister Sibyl 3.45 Mystic Sky 4.15 San Benedeto 4.45 Irish Octave 5.15 Barbados Blue
Yarmouth 2.20 San Donato 2.50 Burford Brown 3.25 Go On Gal 3.55 Bailarico 4.25 Call Out Loud (nb) 4.55 Lunar Deity 5.25 Slow To Hand
Southwell 5.35 Free Stone Hill 6.05 Remind Me Later 6.35 Earlshill 7.05 Lady Maleficent 7.35 Isle Road 8.05 Simply Lucky 8.35 Newtown Boy
Kempton 5.55 Angelina D’Or 6.25 Jawwaal 6.55 La Pelosa 7.25 Birds Of Prey (nap) 7.55 Spirit Of Belle 8.25 Stringybark Creek 8.55 Fortune And Glory
A number of leading figures in the sport, including Philip Freedman, the chairman of the Horsemen’s Group, and the trainers John Gosden and William Haggas, have voiced support for Harman in recent weeks amid speculation that his future was in doubt.
“We need to keep him in the industry,” Haggas said on Tuesday afternoon. “The work he’s done, particularly with the government, has been better than any member of the BHA, BHB [the BHA’s predecessor] or any other organisation since I’ve been in racing, which is rather a long time.
“There have been lots of rumours and very few facts and everyone involved has said nothing, so it’s hard to get a grip on it. I don’t enjoy rumours much, so I’m glad they’ve sorted it out, whatever their problem was, and delighted we can move forward.”
