Brant Dunshea named interim CEO of the British Horseracing Authority

The BHA intends to name a permanent chief executive officer in the new year.

UK.- The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has said that its chief regulatory officer (CRO) Brant Dunshea will stand in as interim CEO when Julie Harrington steps down at the end of the year. The body still intends to hire a permanent new chief executive in the new year. It said it is finalising the recruitment process.

The announcement comes shortly after the BHA announced the appointment of Lord Allen of Kensington as its new chair last month. Allen will play a role in the recruitment process despite being formally slated to take up the role in June 2025. He replaced replaces Joe Saumarez Smith, who has stepped down from the board due to treatment for cancer.

The BHA’s new CEO will play an important role in negotiating with gambling operators to establish a new framework for the horseracing betting levy. The racing industry is concerned about its financial viability after Gambling Commission statistics showed a £3bn deficit in online betting turnover, which the industry blames on new affordability checks.

The BHA will negotiate the future betting levy with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC). The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will act as an intermediary.

Lord Allen has experience in the financial and commercial sectors, as well as in sports, government and media. He is chairman and trustee of the Invictus Games Foundation and played a role in London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. He received his CBE for his role chairing the Manchester Commonwealth Games between 2000 and 2003.

He worked in senior roles at EMI, Endemol and Virgin Media and is chairman of Global Media and Entertainment, Balfour Beatty and THG. Lord Allen also served as a chief adviser to the home office from 2006 to 2008 and chaired the Labour Party management board for a period. He became a member of the House of Lords as a life peer in 2013.