Updates
Racing updates Industry statistics
Updates
Racing updates Industry statistics

Diversity in Racing

Racing is everyone’s sport: Our vision is for racing to be a diverse and inclusive sport in which everyone can achieve their potential and where fans from all communities feel welcome. 

British racing’s leading organisations have come together to improve diversity and inclusion across the sport under a unified “Industry Commitment” to ensure racing truly is a sport for everyone and to help the sport grow and thrive in the future.

British racing is proud to be one of few sports where all genders compete on equal terms. The Industry Commitment formalises the sport’s approach and commitment to diversity and inclusion, building on the extensive existing activity already taking place. Much of this is highlighted and celebrated through Racing Together which has showcased over 80 initiatives across the sport enabling the broadest range of people to participate, progress and achieve in horseracing.

There are a total of 32 racing organisations signed up to the Commitment, which can be read in full here.

Other organisations across British racing are encouraged to join this Industry Commitment and play their role in creating a truly diverse, inclusive and welcoming sport in the years ahead.

Learn more about the BHA’s own D&I commitments and Action Plan here.

All in the Race

All in the Race is British racing’s campaign to raise awareness of inclusive behaviour and encourage reporting of discriminatory or anti-social behaviour via Respect in Racing. Find out more about All in the Race via the below video:

 

Diversity in Racing Advisory Group

The Diversity in Racing Advisory Group (DiRAG) is an independent voluntary body providing strategic direction, advice and support to the industry to help progress diversity and inclusion. 

Read the DiRAG Annual Update here or visit Racing Together for upcoming events and useful D&I resources, including case studies, industry research and practical toolkits.

DiRAG Members

Find out about the DiRAG members below. If you have a project, policy or initiative you would like to speak to the group about, please contact [email protected].

BHA Board Diversity and Inclusion Champion

Tara Warren (pictured) has been appointed the BHA Board’s Diversity and Inclusion Champion. The role of the D&I Champion is to provide accountability at Board level and support the Board in ensuring that it has appropriate oversight of, and meets its responsibilities, where matters relating to diversity and inclusion are concerned. The D&I Champion will ensure that due consideration is given to matters relating to D&I when decisions are taken by the Board and will be the main point of contact on the Board for such matters.

More information on the role can be found here.

Reporting

If you have experienced discriminatory language or behaviour, or have witnessed it, you can report it via email to [email protected]. by telephone to the BHA Safeguarding Team on 0207 152 0099, or through the BHA Safeguarding Incident Report Form.

Anonymous reporting is also available through RaceWise, the BHA’s anonymous reporting service (operated by CrimeStoppers) on 08000 852 580 or through its online reporting form.

 

Eleanor Boden (Chair)
CEO, Scottish Racing Academy

Eleanor is the CEO of the Scottish Racing Academy and is a qualified teacher and a former Senior Lecturer at Myerscough College where she earned Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy status. Eleanor was the Community Engagement Coordinator for Scottish Racing and lead on the award winning, Alzheimer’s Scotland partnership. More recently, Eleanor has published her PhD via Durham University on the lived experiences of women in the horseracing industry in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

David Letts
Shared Ownership Project Manager, GBR

David is currently employed as Shared Ownership Project Manager at Great British Racing where he is responsible for the marketing and promotion of shared racehorse ownership. Prior to this he has worked as an in-house EDI manager for a national law firm and self-employed EDI advisor. He has undertaken several pieces of academic work, including a PhD examining the culture of British racing and implications for diversity and inclusion practice and policy. He has held several roles throughout the racing industry and is committed to furthering the sport’s work in all areas of diversity and inclusion, whilst possessing specific expertise in LGBTQ+ matters. David also Chairs the Racing With Pride network committee.

Susannah Gill
Communications and Corporate Affair Director, UK Tote Group

Susannah is part of the management team running the Tote. Prior to this, Susannah was Director of External Affairs and board member for Arena Racing Company, and before that Head of Public Affairs at Betfair, having started her career as a researcher in parliament. She is a Trustee of the Racing Foundation and National Horseracing College and an Ambassador for Racing to School. She has served two terms on the Women in Racing Committee and been a founding member of the Diversity in Racing Steering Group which she chaired between 2020-2023.

Gareth Wesley
Head of Innovation at Brand Dynamics

Gareth is Head of Innovation at Brand Dynamics, a leading innovation, strategy and research consultancy where he leads change driven innovation programmes for blue-chip companies tackling everything from new product development to corporate purpose. Prior to this he was a strategist in the TBWA agency network.
With a lifelong passion for racing Gareth also previously worked for several years at both the British Horseracing Authority and Racing Post.
He has also been active on wider initiatives including advising a female empowerment charity in Swaziland and organising and leading an expedition to the Himalayas to set a world record altitude for sport which raised a six-figure sum to support the Lord’s Taverners charity that helps disabled and disadvantaged children access sport.

Christina Thakor-Rankin
Co-founder, All-in Diversity Project

Christina Thakor-Rankin is a renowned expert and thought leader in the betting, racing, gaming and gambling industry, with over 30 years’ experience working with both operators and regulators in a variety of senior leadership roles across trading, operations, marketing, tech, product development and licensing and compliance. She is a passionate advocate for responsible gambling and works to promote ethical practices within the industry. She has spoken and written extensively on topics such as problem gambling, gambling addiction, and social responsibility. She is also an active member of Responsible AI UK and CEO of simpal.ai, a tech company focused on addressing bias and making AI accessible and inclusive across a number of sectors including HR and recruitment tech, education and health. In addition to her work in the gambling industry and technology, she is also co-founder of the All-in Diversity Project, an organization that works to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the gaming and betting industry. The project works to collect data on diversity in the industry, promote best practices, and provide resources for companies to create more inclusive workplaces. She is the technical author of the BSI standard PAS 1948:2023 Diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace – a code of practice. 

She is a regular contributor to various publications and speaker at industry conferences and events and has been recognized with numerous awards for her contributions to the industry. 

Grace Carter
Ian Williams Racing

Grace has recently joined the racing industry and works for Ian Williams Racing. She is also a Women in Racing committee member and volunteers for the Urban Equestrian Academy. Grace is passionate about making Horseracing more inclusive for everyone and hopes her work will help the industry more diverse.

Emily Foster
Founder, The Third Culture

Emily is a proud Filipino-British woman. She is the founder of The Third Culture, an organisation that creates spaces for fearless and human inclusion conversations.  

Emily has decades of experience working in media and advertising, which has allowed her to live, work and travel all around the world. Working with some of the world’s biggest and most successful companies in the world, she has won several awards such as Top 25 Young People To Look out for (Philippine National Enquirer 2005), Campaign Asia’s Woman to Watch (2018), and Winner of Respect Individuality (groupM 2019) among various media awards. Her knowledge and experience in understanding how to work in global environments with multi-layered cultural challenges have been critical to delivering great business results and social impact. Her interest, passion and commitment in diversity and inclusion stems from her multi-ethnic family and her background as a ‘third culture kid’ growing up in Asia and Europe as well as her unique cultural business experiences. She is multi-racial but presents as white, so she has a keen sense of intersectionality and her privilege, and uses her awareness to help others gain a better understanding and create positive change.  

Her work spans a multitude of interventions including but not limited to training, consulting on policies and processes, auditing, supporting employee networks and implementing culture-change programmes. She is regularly invited to panels and talks to share her experience and knowledge in diversity and inclusion.  

Emily has worked with the Surrey County Cricket Club in the wake of the ICEC report on discrimination in cricket. She has a personal interest in horseracing through her family history and is delighted to be able to help the Diversity Advisory Group make racing a more inclusive world.

Carol Bramhill
HR Director, British Racing School

Carol Bramhill is HR Director at the British Racing School in Newmarket. She is a Chartered member of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) and has a strong intertest in staff management and progression in the racing industry. She began her career as a rider and racing groom before going on to study Law, and later HR Management.

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