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Has Roy done anything at all for British Racing? This was written over a year ago.....
Jonathan Powell, Daily Mail, in August 2010
Racing's top two bosses, British Horseracing Authority chairman Paul Roy and chief executive Nic Coward, are facing demands for them to be axed as the sport confronts its growing funding crisis.
The demand comes in a letter sent by former trainer David Gandolfo to many racing professionals.
In it, Gandolfo, who has long played a part in racing politics, claims the BHA's leadership is 'supine and utterly ineffective'. And he adds: 'If they are not up to the job they should go
Last week, Roy attacked his critics, complaining of a furtive campaign being waged by scaremongers against the industry's leaders. But Gandolfo's letter has provoked a heated response among those who fear for the future of the sport.
He said yesterday: 'The letter has sparked a considerable amount of argument. The general feeling is that something has to be done and not a moment should be wasted.
'What we really need is a dictator to take hold of the industry. Everyone accepts that. It is clear that government by committee doesn't work, so we are asking for a shake-up and looking for new and dynamic leadership to arrest the financial decline of our great sport.
'I agree with Lord March, who recently called for a Bernie Ecclestone figure to do for horseracing what Ecclestone did for Formula One.'
Racing is facing a severe crisis. The Levy, which is based on 10 per cent of bookmakers' gross profits made from horseracing bets, has funded the industry for the past 46 years.
But it is down 25 per cent next year to £70million and there has been an unprecedented delay in the publication of the fixture list for 2011 as the axe hovers over almost 150 race meetings.
Gandolfo's round-robin letter is likely to bring the battle for power into the open. He maintains that his lack of confidence in key figures at the BHA is supported by an increasing band of trainers, owners and breeders.
In his letter, Gandolfo asks: 'Where is the leadership that was displayed by Peter Savill [the former British Horseracing Board chairman] 10 years ago? His arrival was precipitated by a coup when Lord Wakeham was unseated from the chairmanship of the BHB.
'It is surely time to act again as the current leadership of the BHA is supine and utterly ineffective. If they are not up to the job they should go.'We need someone with a racing heartbeat, imbued with the imagination and excitement of the owner-punter and blessed with the intelligence of a great industrial leader such as the late Lord Weinstock.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racing/article-1305118/BHA-chiefs-Paul-Roy-Nic-Coward-racing-crisis-deepens.html#ixzz1bJCjZVcX
Jonathan Powell, Daily Mail, in August 2010
Racing's top two bosses, British Horseracing Authority chairman Paul Roy and chief executive Nic Coward, are facing demands for them to be axed as the sport confronts its growing funding crisis.
The demand comes in a letter sent by former trainer David Gandolfo to many racing professionals.
In it, Gandolfo, who has long played a part in racing politics, claims the BHA's leadership is 'supine and utterly ineffective'. And he adds: 'If they are not up to the job they should go
Last week, Roy attacked his critics, complaining of a furtive campaign being waged by scaremongers against the industry's leaders. But Gandolfo's letter has provoked a heated response among those who fear for the future of the sport.
He said yesterday: 'The letter has sparked a considerable amount of argument. The general feeling is that something has to be done and not a moment should be wasted.
'What we really need is a dictator to take hold of the industry. Everyone accepts that. It is clear that government by committee doesn't work, so we are asking for a shake-up and looking for new and dynamic leadership to arrest the financial decline of our great sport.
'I agree with Lord March, who recently called for a Bernie Ecclestone figure to do for horseracing what Ecclestone did for Formula One.'
Racing is facing a severe crisis. The Levy, which is based on 10 per cent of bookmakers' gross profits made from horseracing bets, has funded the industry for the past 46 years.
But it is down 25 per cent next year to £70million and there has been an unprecedented delay in the publication of the fixture list for 2011 as the axe hovers over almost 150 race meetings.
Gandolfo's round-robin letter is likely to bring the battle for power into the open. He maintains that his lack of confidence in key figures at the BHA is supported by an increasing band of trainers, owners and breeders.
In his letter, Gandolfo asks: 'Where is the leadership that was displayed by Peter Savill [the former British Horseracing Board chairman] 10 years ago? His arrival was precipitated by a coup when Lord Wakeham was unseated from the chairmanship of the BHB.
'It is surely time to act again as the current leadership of the BHA is supine and utterly ineffective. If they are not up to the job they should go.'We need someone with a racing heartbeat, imbued with the imagination and excitement of the owner-punter and blessed with the intelligence of a great industrial leader such as the late Lord Weinstock.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racing/article-1305118/BHA-chiefs-Paul-Roy-Nic-Coward-racing-crisis-deepens.html#ixzz1bJCjZVcX
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and from his opening speech in Jan 2007, nearly 5 years ago, www.racingbetter.co.uk:
The British Horseracing Authority's Chairman Paul Roy, making his first public speech since taking up the role, yesterday declared his hope that the new body could offer a fresh start for racing.
Addressing the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Annual General Meeting in London, where he was a guest speaker, Roy declared: "I want to make absolutely clear to you today that the BHA is not just a name change and yet another new acronym in racing. It is a genuine fresh start; a ground-breaking new concept in sports administration. It is the most independent governing and regulatory body in British sport. It will be performance-driven, dynamic and responsive, and its decisions will be taken for the greater good, free from sectional interest."
Roy admitted that factionalism within racing politics had previously put him off getting more involved.
He said: "Although a lifelong follower of racing, and an owner and breeder, I'd long been put off and disillusioned by the in-fighting, the politics and the factions. However, I viewed the formation of the BHA, in what is a radical restructuring of governance and regulation, as a tremendous opportunity for the industry to come together as one."
Roy welcomed TBA chairman Philip Freedman's calls for a meeting to discuss integrity in the bloodstock world and he also hoped that increased transparency in racing would heighten the public's confidence.
He said: "On the positive side, the number of races requiring investigation appears to be reducing all the time. This, together with the industry's more transparent, less self-denying response to any negative issues that make headlines in 2007, will build public confidence in our sport.
"The work of the regulator has been made increasingly transparent to both the industry itself and the wider public, through the opening of appeals to the press, to the production of detailed reasons for decisions. The BHA will continue this trend towards enhanced disclosure transparency.
"However, integrity will always begin with individual responsibility. Integrity needs to exist across the whole industry, not just on the racecourse but, as Philip rightly points out, within the bloodstock world. In the financial world, a clear distinction is made and transparency between somebody acting as both a principal and an agent.
"Acting in a dual capacity or taking a fee on both sides of a transaction has to be disclosed. The same rules and levels of disclosure should apply within this industry, and I welcome Philip's suggestion to meet with the TBA to discuss appropriate protection for vendors and buyers alike.
Roy also highlighted the potential to bring more owners and investors into racing as well as announcing that the Stable and Stud Staff Steering Group was set to continue under the BHA.
Difficult to count the number of contradictions and amount of hypocisry in Roy's statement given his ssubsequent performance, amazed he still has the gall to go his office once a week.
The British Horseracing Authority's Chairman Paul Roy, making his first public speech since taking up the role, yesterday declared his hope that the new body could offer a fresh start for racing.
Addressing the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Annual General Meeting in London, where he was a guest speaker, Roy declared: "I want to make absolutely clear to you today that the BHA is not just a name change and yet another new acronym in racing. It is a genuine fresh start; a ground-breaking new concept in sports administration. It is the most independent governing and regulatory body in British sport. It will be performance-driven, dynamic and responsive, and its decisions will be taken for the greater good, free from sectional interest."
Roy admitted that factionalism within racing politics had previously put him off getting more involved.
He said: "Although a lifelong follower of racing, and an owner and breeder, I'd long been put off and disillusioned by the in-fighting, the politics and the factions. However, I viewed the formation of the BHA, in what is a radical restructuring of governance and regulation, as a tremendous opportunity for the industry to come together as one."
Roy welcomed TBA chairman Philip Freedman's calls for a meeting to discuss integrity in the bloodstock world and he also hoped that increased transparency in racing would heighten the public's confidence.
He said: "On the positive side, the number of races requiring investigation appears to be reducing all the time. This, together with the industry's more transparent, less self-denying response to any negative issues that make headlines in 2007, will build public confidence in our sport.
"The work of the regulator has been made increasingly transparent to both the industry itself and the wider public, through the opening of appeals to the press, to the production of detailed reasons for decisions. The BHA will continue this trend towards enhanced disclosure transparency.
"However, integrity will always begin with individual responsibility. Integrity needs to exist across the whole industry, not just on the racecourse but, as Philip rightly points out, within the bloodstock world. In the financial world, a clear distinction is made and transparency between somebody acting as both a principal and an agent.
"Acting in a dual capacity or taking a fee on both sides of a transaction has to be disclosed. The same rules and levels of disclosure should apply within this industry, and I welcome Philip's suggestion to meet with the TBA to discuss appropriate protection for vendors and buyers alike.
Roy also highlighted the potential to bring more owners and investors into racing as well as announcing that the Stable and Stud Staff Steering Group was set to continue under the BHA.
Difficult to count the number of contradictions and amount of hypocisry in Roy's statement given his ssubsequent performance, amazed he still has the gall to go his office once a week.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Well, in fact I've been more or less posting a similar theme for some considerable time now though it's always felt as if "some fell on stony ground".
More power to your elbow Mr Gandolfo.
Unlike yourself, I'm not an industry insider, I'm just a mere punter, observer and amateur spokesperson with a bit of horse riding experience, a long-standing enjoyment of horsey things and a passionate belief that the racing industry is being badly run for both jockeys, trainers, owners, stable staff, punters and above all the general racing public.
More power to your elbow Mr Gandolfo.
Unlike yourself, I'm not an industry insider, I'm just a mere punter, observer and amateur spokesperson with a bit of horse riding experience, a long-standing enjoyment of horsey things and a passionate belief that the racing industry is being badly run for both jockeys, trainers, owners, stable staff, punters and above all the general racing public.
" ...... amazed he still has the gall to go his office once a week."
you just have to google his name and you come across article after article on either his empty promises or yet another shambles. I believe that nice mr Slim Pickens pasted a few pertinent ones on his brother gamblers thread.
FD I notice that DeSousa is on the drift, is it all up for him?
wee eck. Unfortunately you begin from the false premise that horse racing should be 'straight'.
If you were to adopt a different approach you would feel more comfortable indulging in the sport.
All the wheeling and dealing, deceit and skullduggery is part and parcel of what racing has always been about. It is what provides us with the hopes and disappointments.
Somewhere along the line, someone seems to have got it into their head that racing should be scrupulously clean, honest and above board. Sadly, they are aiming for something that will always be out of reach.
Ask yourself next time you go to your local fish and chip shop and order a portion of chips. Do you want each chip cut uniformly and individually wrapped or do you prefer them to be all different shapes and sizes with the occasional baddun'?
I know what I prefer. You wan' sa't and winegar?
If you were to adopt a different approach you would feel more comfortable indulging in the sport.
All the wheeling and dealing, deceit and skullduggery is part and parcel of what racing has always been about. It is what provides us with the hopes and disappointments.
Somewhere along the line, someone seems to have got it into their head that racing should be scrupulously clean, honest and above board. Sadly, they are aiming for something that will always be out of reach.
Ask yourself next time you go to your local fish and chip shop and order a portion of chips. Do you want each chip cut uniformly and individually wrapped or do you prefer them to be all different shapes and sizes with the occasional baddun'?
I know what I prefer. You wan' sa't and winegar?
I have always accepted that horseracing is iffy in the the last ten years years it has got
a lot iffier and since the new whip rules have been in place has got iffier and iffier.
a lot iffier and since the new whip rules have been in place has got iffier and iffier.
it all depends how many winners Hanagan gets in the next 3 days imo, if it takes the difference to more than 10 its gonna be tricky but not impossible
I agree to a certain extent, all professional sports are a bit iffy, take Fergie and the way he seems to be able to pull the strings of the FA, refs are in genuine fear of him, then theres things like italian or scottish lower league stuff.....or cricket, as soon as large sums of cash are involved in a sport corruption is inevitable, what annoys me is the spineless and sometime duplicitous nature of the bodies set up to try to curb it
The people "in charge" are not fit for purpose.
Racing is in "crisis". The fields in races are low. Seeing so many small fields. Some many withdrawn horses. Falling income.
So they come up with an idea they think will boost the sport. Ban "excessive" use of the whip. It upsets grandma watching the Grand National and it upsets Channel 4 viewers.
The evidence is the padded whip is not cruel. The BHA professor states this on the BBC. The RSPCA has never stated it is cruel.
The whole thing is back firing. Jockeys getting banned for rules that make no sense. Come out with statement like "I'd rather come second than get a ban." What does the punter do with that? Horses will be bred that don't need persuasion. Will the blood stock be of value outside these islands?
There are plenty of bookies sites that don't bother with horse racing. Better get over to the football forum.
Racing is in "crisis". The fields in races are low. Seeing so many small fields. Some many withdrawn horses. Falling income.
So they come up with an idea they think will boost the sport. Ban "excessive" use of the whip. It upsets grandma watching the Grand National and it upsets Channel 4 viewers.
The evidence is the padded whip is not cruel. The BHA professor states this on the BBC. The RSPCA has never stated it is cruel.
The whole thing is back firing. Jockeys getting banned for rules that make no sense. Come out with statement like "I'd rather come second than get a ban." What does the punter do with that? Horses will be bred that don't need persuasion. Will the blood stock be of value outside these islands?
There are plenty of bookies sites that don't bother with horse racing. Better get over to the football forum.
Well said six gun. As sensible a post as I have seen on the subject.
From another thread Paul Roys list of achievements
Paul Roys achievements.
1) Taking Betfair to court with William Hills money
2) Endlessly attacked Fred Done over the tote, and has left Done’s (the totes)relationship with racing in tatters.
3) Unrepentantly presiding over whip rules the jockeys won’t ride under
4)Gave the BHA (with Coward) the order to refuse punter representation to the BHA – well that tells you everything about the man
5) Allegedly tried to manipulate and damage Betfairs IPO - and apparently got 'investigated' by the FSA for his attempts
6) 2012 Fixture list still not complete, IJF printing calandars without fixtures - claiming any more delay will cost them 1000s
7) Chase owners from the sport - by outlawing laying a stables runner
Paul Roys achievements.
1) Taking Betfair to court with William Hills money
2) Endlessly attacked Fred Done over the tote, and has left Done’s (the totes)relationship with racing in tatters.
3) Unrepentantly presiding over whip rules the jockeys won’t ride under
4)Gave the BHA (with Coward) the order to refuse punter representation to the BHA – well that tells you everything about the man
5) Allegedly tried to manipulate and damage Betfairs IPO - and apparently got 'investigated' by the FSA for his attempts
6) 2012 Fixture list still not complete, IJF printing calandars without fixtures - claiming any more delay will cost them 1000s
7) Chase owners from the sport - by outlawing laying a stables runner
And we know full well the experience with number 4, DONT WE!!
its ok they have lined up Fred Goodwin and the Maxwell twins as their successors
They bowed to so called "public perception".Since when was perception a fact,you can make it mean all sorts of things.
More in depth explanations were needed over the dehydration of the Grand National horses and the daily use of the WHIP.This instument badly needs to be renamed so that "public perception" can be put right.
Rule change a total fiasco,ill-conceived after all their deliberations on it.
More in depth explanations were needed over the dehydration of the Grand National horses and the daily use of the WHIP.This instument badly needs to be renamed so that "public perception" can be put right.
Rule change a total fiasco,ill-conceived after all their deliberations on it.
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