SerpApi.Org
A little-known retired businessman with a background in the beer industry has landed British horse racing’s top job.
Simon Cox, who made his name in the brewing sector and is a small-time racehorse owner-breeder, will replace Charles Allen as chairman of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). Lord Allen resigned in March, just six months after assuming the role.
Ralph Beckett, the Classic-winning trainer who is on the board of the National Trainers Federation, said: “I can’t comment on Simon because I don’t know him but he must be impressive to beat Minette Batters to the punch.”
Cox won what became a three-horse race between himself, Batters and Peter Savill, a racehorse owner, former chairman of the BHA and the owner of Plumpton Racecourse.
Batters is a former point-to-point rider and former president of the National Farmers’ Union, and sits in the Lords as a cross-bencher.
Cox will begin the role on October 1 and beat other candidates to the job because of his “deep understanding of the British racing and breeding industry combined with extensive board-level experience and large-scale commercial experience”.
He said: “British racing and breeding is a worldwide success story. We are an industry that is globally renowned for our equine welfare standards, the fairness and integrity of our competition and the quality of our participants, our horses and our racing.
“It’s no secret that we face significant challenges and my focus will be on ensuring racing works together to address these, with a particular emphasis on growing participation in the sport, our customer base and critically our income streams.”
The 58-year-old spent 32 years in the brewing industry and ran Molson Coors (Carling, Doom Bar, Coors) and was responsible for regions outside the Americas. The company employs about 16,000 people globally and its recent financial figures show a turnover of about £8bn.
His role in the brewing industry helped him make governmental connections while serving on the boards of the Portman Group (the alcohol industry’s self-regulatory body), the British Beer and Pub Association and the Brewers of Europe. He was involved in the campaign to get the beer duty escalator abolished in 2013.
Cox has dipped his toe in racing politics, having been on the board of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association trustees since 2021 and chairs the BHA’s Jump Pattern Committee. He was also on the board of the Professional Jockeys Association until resigning after two years to oust the then chief executive and is a member of the High Quality Horse group, which tries to increase the number of racehorses being bred.
Cox and his wife, Louise, bought their first horse with Ian Williams in 2011 and have a few mares, as well as a share in the stallion Logician. His best horse is In Between Days, a homebred Listed hurdle winner at Auteuil in France, where he is trained by Noel George. He is by Logician.
In his in-tray are a host of problems including the Gambling Commission’s pursuit of affordability checks and the subsequent falling revenues from betting. Elsewhere, a declining foal crop presents problems, as does the sport’s social licence and a changing climate which may have a bigger say in racing’s future than anyone imagines, if the last two summers are anything to go by.
