Keep Owners in Racing

“Events, Events, Events” – Dealing with Crises and the First 100 Days as CEO of the BHA

In the last blog we welcomed Julie Harrington, the new CEO of the BHA, and we hope that everything’s going smoothly, not least as she’s coming up to half-time in her first hundred days. It had us... Read

by Jon Hughes

18th February

Don’t Panic, Don’t Panic – the BHA Has a New CEO … aka Chief Emergency Officer

One of my new year’s resolutions is to be as positive and supportive as I can possibly be of new CEO Julie Harrington, who moved into the hottest seat in British racing at the beginning of the... Read

by Jon Hughes

13th January

Headmaster’s Report on the Racing Recovery Plan – Progress Made but Lots to Do in 2021+

How many of us came home from school in the autumn term with a report containing phrases such as “could try harder”, “needs to concentrate on the important subjects” and “should talk less and do... Read

by Jon Hughes

17th December

Get Counting – Time to Register Every Owner and Properly Understand the Ownership Base

An entertaining article by Peter Scargill from the virtual Racing Post Arms suggested a tiered system of ownership for segmenting sole owners from syndicate members on the racecourse. This is a... Read

by Ged Shields

24th November

Ownership Strategy: What Do You Think Of It So Far? – Rubbish

In the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken to almost as many journalists as I’ve had bottles of champagne to celebrate winners – and I’ve had a few! A number of articles have come out already, in the... Read

by Jon Hughes

4th November

Ownership Strategy, Part 2 – Testing and Tracing the ROA’s Six-Point Covid Plan

What has your reaction been to the last eight months? Frustration on seemingly incoherent and inconsistent policy; irritation at the endless procrastinations and prevarications; anger at... Read

by Jon Hughes

30th October

Reimagining Ownership – So Much More to Do. We’ll Be Back.

It’s often said that dog lovers grow to resemble their animals, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s often the same with racehorse owners. My co-author of the Blueprint, Ged Shields, and I... Read

by Jon Hughes

19th October

What Did the Romans Ever Do For Britain – or the ROA, For That Matter?

One of my favourite sketches from Life of Brian is the one where a bunch of conspirators is being challenged by John Cleese to denounce the Romans. The repeated refrain of “What have the Romans... Read

by Jon Hughes

16th October

Stairway to Heaven – Three Critical Steps to Sort Out Prize-Money

“Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run There’s still time to change the road you’re on" For many years the Racing Post has profiled numerous racing personalities and asked... Read

by Ged Shields

13th October

Marking the ROA’s Homework, Part 1 – Assessing an Ownership Strategy

The Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) had the responsibility of producing an Industry Ownership Strategy, supported by a £1.5m grant from the Horserace Betting Levy Board and the Racing... Read

by Jon Hughes

8th October

Zoom In on Racing’s Marketing Strategy – Is There One?

The KOIR campaign team is steeped in marketing talent. Co-author of the Blueprint, Ged Shields, spent his career in international marketing (famously coming up with the phrase, “Does Exactly What... Read

by Jon Hughes

6th October

To Boldly Go – In Search of Ways to Connect Racing’s Parallel Universe

Are you in the camp of those who love Star Trek and the adventures of USS Enterprise, or someone who loathes it? I’m in the former and my wife is in the latter. When she was a criminal lawyer in... Read

by Jon Hughes

2nd October

Manifesto for the Future – Campaign Blog

“Events, Events, Events” – Dealing with Crises and the First 100 Days as CEO of the BHA

Don’t Panic, Don’t Panic – the BHA Has a New CEO … aka Chief Emergency Officer

Headmaster’s Report on the Racing Recovery Plan – Progress Made but Lots to Do in 2021+

Get Counting – Time to Register Every Owner and Properly Understand the Ownership Base

Ownership Strategy: What Do You Think Of It So Far? – Rubbish

Ownership Strategy, Part 2 – Testing and Tracing the ROA’s Six-Point Covid Plan

Reimagining Ownership – So Much More to Do. We’ll Be Back.

What Did the Romans Ever Do For Britain – or the ROA, For That Matter?

Stairway to Heaven – Three Critical Steps to Sort Out Prize-Money

Marking the ROA’s Homework, Part 1 – Assessing an Ownership Strategy

Zoom In on Racing’s Marketing Strategy – Is There One?

To Boldly Go – In Search of Ways to Connect Racing’s Parallel Universe