FELICITY TAKES A STAND & WHEN WILL THE INDUSTRY WAKE-UP AND REALISE WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS UP TO.

Everyone in racing from the stable-yard to Portman Square is fully aware that after the Labour Government the governance of British horse racing is top of the tree for mismanagement, lack of credibility and for letting a golden opportunity fall through its fingers. The B.H.A. is crap; the idea that every facet of the sport could have a voice in every important decision was naive enough for the child of hippies to have made, and an organisation that cannot find someone to sit in its golden chair must bear all the hallmarks of a ship about to sink. We are doomed, I tell ye! We are doomed! As Private Fraser once said many times.

Ascot's chief executive, Felicity Barnard gives the appearance of being Woman's Institute material, yet beneath the pearls beat the heart of a true rebel. She gave the R.C.A. (Racecourse Association) one-month's notice to create an air of change amongst its board members or Ascot would walk away. Well, the internicine war is now signed-off, and all it needs is for the other signatories to the letter of the discontent that landed on Wilf Walsh's in-tray in April to do likewise and the dogs of war will be let loose.

This is no laughing matter, even if I am all levity about it at the present. To be honest, I applaud this bold shift of policy by the Royal racecourse; the problem of racing's governance needed a good shaking and this, I hope, will result in the R.C.A. looking itself in the mirror. The problem is, though, that though the R.C.A.'s stance is holding back the formation of a B.H.A. independent board, the greater problem is that even with an independent board the B.H.A. will remain a toothless tiger in so many respects. It may have power but it is so limited that it must ask politely and then profusely thank all its stakeholders just for listening to them. The tail is wagging the dog and the dog is a poodle not an Alsatian. A nice Alsatian, not a mistreated guard-dog, a dog with authority, good ideas and a listening ear. One man or woman at the top of the pyramid, working a five-day week, taking decisions that move the dial for everyone employed in the industry and that includes the R.C.A., an organisation that needs to be trained to chase after the ball when asked-to and not to stand and sulk. Racecourses need horses, jockeys, owners, bookmakers, stable staff and groundsman, to make their business a success. Horse racing needs racecourses. We may not be a family but at least we could be friends, grown-up friends, not like teenagers, smoking weed, drinking cider in the park and talking bollocks.  

When will it be recognised by the B.H.A. and everyone else in the racing industry in this country that the affordability checks that hang-over the sport like gallows have very little to do with curbing gambling addiction and much more to do with control, linked to digital I.D., and for the eventual death by natural selection of horse racing in this country. I suspect I come over at times as a conspiracy theorist, even though I am only a watcher and listener to those who propose conspiracies and those who adhere to the dictates of the E.U., the W.E.F., the W.H.O. and the Green Party of this country.

Our present Prime Minister, when in opposition, once answered the question 'which do you prefer, Westminster or Davos?' 'Davos, as things get done there, which does not happen in Westminster'. Davos is home to the World Economic Forum. Prior to the cessation of liberty and freedom in the world back in 2019, the W.E.F. published a multi-layed prospectus on how they wished to change the world. This document began with words that proposed that the virus was an opportunity to reset the world. In that proposed reset, farmland would be turned over to nature and large domesticated animals, cattle, pigs, and horses, though they were not specifically mentioned, would become relics of a previous age, as the land on which they graze would be needed to grow food for humans.

Our government is duplicitous, they speak with forked-tongues. Affordability checks are the first steps on the road to complete control of humanity. I rest my case. Do your own research. Sir Kier Starmer is a disciple of the World Economic Forum and a fan-boy of the E.U. Vote Reform, I beg of you. Lend them your vote this week and in the General Election that is on the horizon. For me, for you, for the future of the sport we love, and for the horse, which has no place in the great reset of the world.