Lord Allen of Kensington named chair of British Horseracing Association

Lord Allen will replace Joe Saumarez Smith from June 2025.

UK.- The British Horseracing Association (BHA) has named Lord Allen of Kensington CBE as its new chairman. He will replace Joe Saumarez Smith from June 1 2025. Saumarez Smith had announced plans to retire in June.

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.

Speaking about this new position, Lord Allen said: “I look forward to building a strong relationship with the new CEO and the board and all our stakeholders, delivering the vision of building the commercial and reputational aspects of the sector.

“My knowledge, skills and experience from various sectors, including media and entertainment, and having led many regulated and sporting organisations, will hopefully stand me in good stead to bring a fresh perspective to this incredible sport.”

David Jones, chair of the BHA nominations committee and senior independent director, said: “His record speaks for itself. His impressive leadership skills, financial and commercial acumen, broadcast experience and an understanding of government will bring a fresh and independent perspective to the BHA’s work.

“Combined with his wealth of experience in global sporting events, Lord Allen impressed the committee with his perceptive grasp of the challenges facing racing and will be a powerful advocate for the sport.”

Meanwhile, the BHA is still seeking a new CEO to replace Julie Harrington, who will leave at the end of this year.

The BHA aims to continue pushing for reform of the UK betting levy, which helps fund the horseracing sector. Victoria Morgan, head of policy and advocacy, has raised doubts about the UK government’s plans. Writing in a blog post on the BHA’s website, Morgan said that it was still unclear how the new Labour government viewed racing’s key issues, including the betting levy and affordability checks.

She noted: “The only topic connected to racing in its manifesto was gambling, about which it simply stated: ‘Labour is committed to reducing gambling-related harm. Recognising the evolution of the gambling landscape since 2005, Labour will reform gambling regulation, strengthening protections. We will continue to work with the industry on how to ensure responsible gambling’.”