early morning thoughts 07/08/2024

​Why does the B.H.A. need both a chief executive and a ‘chair,’ which I suppose to mean a ‘chairman’? Given that doubtless neither position requires a 5-day week, could one person do both jobs, if only to save on money?
I will now quote from the notice advertising for applicants for the position of chief executive: The appointee will therefore be a proven senior leader, with experience in leading complex stakeholder environments with the ability to influence external stakeholders, such as government, while representing the B.H.A. in a consumer-facing environment.
At no point does it ask for anyone applying for the position to have an interest in the sport the successful applicant will be required to lead for the foreseeable future. Yes, there is also no governmental requirement for the Archbishop of Canterbury to believe in God, even though his duties are doubtless every bit as complex due to God being Canterbury’s major stakeholder.
What is galling is that already people with an interest in the sport and who put their name forward for the post have been told they will not be considered, which is pretty maddening as amongst these people were former politicians who would know there way around the corridors of power at Westminster.
And is anyone within the racing industry advising the B.H.A. on suitable applicants? Of course not. They are paying a large sum of money to the MRS Group, an executive search firm.
To me, a man born optimistic though through experience is now a dedicated cynic, this is like appointing a vegetarian as agriculture minister or employing a plumber to rewire your house. Is it any wonder the sport is in the state it is? Thumps forehead with palm of the hand and moves on. 
The straight-talking Davy Russell, as guest columnist in today’s Racing Post, is calling for better prize-money in Ireland, citing the rising cost of everything as a very real threat to the sport’s survival. He is right, of course, and though he hints at drastic measures as potential for solving the crisis he just cannot say the obvious – every other country funds prize-money through a form of tote monopoly, and if not that old concept, then certainly through betting as a whole. 
What cannot be defended is the rise and rise of the cost of horses at auction and the cost of stallion fees. When winners of a 4-year-old maiden point-to-point constantly go through the ring for £400,000 it is always going to be an uphill struggle for anyone paying money that is somewhere between fancy and extortionate to make a profit out of ownership. This where the madness lies, where once upon a time an owner would kiss what was paid goodbye and hope for his horse to pay its way through the season. Thoroughbreds are now seen as an investment and not a sporting pursuit.
To continue with critical thinking. Setbacks, slight injury and ‘he’ll need a bit of time’ – what is being said here by trainers and owners and why keep the extent of an injury secret to only those with a need to know? Oh, I think punters and enthusiastic supporters of the sport should be included in that list of ‘need to know’, don’t you? If it is a bruised fetlock, tell us. Most of us know a fetlock from a cannon bone. Most of all, educate us, give us a true insight into one of the great setbacks in owning and training horses. I do not ask for the current weight of your horse or if it bolted on the gallop or knocked over its bucket of water. But you could at least put flesh to that annoying telling us nothing word – setback.
Good news is that my favourite jockey has just ridden her fiftieth winner of the year. With even greater support than she already receives, a golden run of form by uncle David’s horses and the luck of staying injury free through till the end of the year, she might even make 100-winners, which would represent a superb achievement for someone who only turned professional in 2021 when for reasons with no scientific basis amateurs were not allowed to ride during the nonsense of covid.
Jo Mason, if you had not worked-out her identity.