Keep Owners in Racing

Are Premier Racedays a Premier Experience for Customers? If Not, the Experiment has Failed.

At the start of this year, I asked if anybody could complete the following sentence: “Premier racing will attract new fans to racing because …..” Eight months since launch and I’m still waiting... Read

by Ged Shields

12th September

In the Thick of It, Hancock’s Half Hour or Mission Impossible? Racing still doesn’t have a proper funding strategy.

It seems a long time now since the election and we’re still learning about the new government’s priorities. Unfortunately, back in May, racing was unable to get a deal with the Betting and Gaming... Read

by Jon Hughes

26th August

Fixing the Fixtures, Part 2: Why it’s easy both to agree and to disagree with the BHA’s premierisation strategy

I’m a fan of the ever-inconsistent Glenda Slagg in Private Eye, deriding the people that she’s just praised with lashings of innuendo, so what would she make of British racing at the moment? ... Read

by Jon Hughes

11th July

Fixing the Fixtures, Part 1: Sunday Best – The bloated fixture list and outdated programme are to be modernised. But is the thinking right?

Much has been made of the BHA’s proposed premierisation and their desire to declutter the 2pm-4pm window on Saturdays by moving some of the minor meetings. I’m okay with the concept of... Read

by Ged Shields

17th June

Not What I was Dreaming Of, But Premierisation Can Work

As a passionate owner involved in 19 racehorses from foals to chasers, I was absorbed recently as the epic “Premierisation – To Boldly Go” unfolded, but couldn’t stop myself humming along to Judy... Read

by Jon Hughes

2nd June

We Welcome Racing’s New Governance Structure – Will it Be a Strong Foundation for the Future or the Last Chance Saloon?

Right from the start of Keep Owners in Racing’s campaign back in 2020 we have argued that design and delivery of radical initiatives capable of growing and sustaining our sport would not happen... Read

by Jon Hughes

1st December

Racing’s New Holy Trinity of “Innovation, Growth and Sustainability” – Great that the first strategic step is under way, but a huge amount to do.

As KOIR has been campaigning for the last two years for a Strategy for British Racing, it would be churlish indeed not to welcome the initial statements of intent from a BHA-facilitated two-day... Read

by Jon Hughes & Ged Shields

23rd September

Horse Racing’s Dark Secrets – Endangering the Relevance and Sustainability of British Racing

Royal Ascot has come and gone: 300,000 racegoers, men in top hats and tails, women in chic outfits and beautiful, or bizarre, millinery, gathered for the highlight of the racing calendar. Now we... Read

by Jon Hughes

16th July

Carpe Diem – An Open Letter to Joe Saumarez Smith on Governance, Leadership and Sustainability of British Racing

Dear Joe, The warmest of welcomes into your new role as Chair of the BHA. Your appointment has been well received and the Keep Owners in Racing network is highly supportive. Over the last two... Read

by Jon Hughes, Ged Shields & Byron Ousey

31st May

British Racing is in Decline – Why Less Can Be More, and the Case for Cutting the Total Number of Races

Earlier in the month, KOIR was invited by the Racing Post to comment on the need to reduce the number of races in the UK. We also participated in the Sky Racing Debate on the subject. This blog... Read

by Jon Hughes & Ged Shields

26th May

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Part 2 – Joe Saumarez Smith, New Chair of the BHA, Rides to the Rescue?

Readers of the KOIR blog will know that we’ve been staunch critics of racing’s woeful lack of proper leadership. Encouragingly, some of the tectonic plates within the governance of the sport... Read

by Jon Hughes

15th March

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Part 1 – Loud Cheers for Chelmsford and Resounding Boos for the Miser of the Month, Newbury Racecourse

If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you’ll know that Keep Owners in Racing has always positioned prize-money as a central plank in the sustainability of British racing. We campaign for... Read

by Jon Hughes

31st January

Manifesto for the Future – Campaign Blog

Are Premier Racedays a Premier Experience for Customers? If Not, the Experiment has Failed.

In the Thick of It, Hancock’s Half Hour or Mission Impossible? Racing still doesn’t have a proper funding strategy.

Fixing the Fixtures, Part 2: Why it’s easy both to agree and to disagree with the BHA’s premierisation strategy

Fixing the Fixtures, Part 1: Sunday Best – The bloated fixture list and outdated programme are to be modernised. But is the thinking right?

Not What I was Dreaming Of, But Premierisation Can Work

We Welcome Racing’s New Governance Structure – Will it Be a Strong Foundation for the Future or the Last Chance Saloon?

Racing’s New Holy Trinity of “Innovation, Growth and Sustainability” – Great that the first strategic step is under way, but a huge amount to do.

Horse Racing’s Dark Secrets – Endangering the Relevance and Sustainability of British Racing

Carpe Diem – An Open Letter to Joe Saumarez Smith on Governance, Leadership and Sustainability of British Racing

British Racing is in Decline – Why Less Can Be More, and the Case for Cutting the Total Number of Races

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Part 2 – Joe Saumarez Smith, New Chair of the BHA, Rides to the Rescue?

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Part 1 – Loud Cheers for Chelmsford and Resounding Boos for the Miser of the Month, Newbury Racecourse