BHA Appoints New Disciplinary Panel

A total of 23 people have been appointed to the new Disciplinary Panel and Licensing Committee for the British Horseracing Authority, His Honour Brian Barker C.B.E. QC, Judicial Panel Chairman for the BHA announced Monday. The panel will be in charge of holding enquiries under the Rules of Racing, hearing appeals against the BHA's racecourse stewards' decisions and, where appropriate, imposing penalties in accordance with the Rules. The new panel was appointed following the recommendation of independent regulatory expert Christopher Quinlanc QC, who reviewed the structure, composition and operation of the BHA's Disciplinary Panel, Appeal Board and Licensing Committee. The appointed chairman and members will start on July 3 (unless stated otherwise) and will serve for three years.

“The appointment process for these important positions has been an extensive one,” said Barker. “I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time and effort to apply and we were very fortunate to have such a high number of quality applications. I'm pleased that we have been able to put in place a panel which combines greater diversity of skills and experience, combining significant legal expertise with in-depth horseracing knowledge.”

Appointed by the Judicial Panel Chairmen following an open, competitive process, judged against published criteria, an emphasis was placed on former jockeys and trainers whose direct experience of the sport could make them ideal candidates to assist in the formulation of disciplinary verdicts. Among the new members on the panel are Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Jenny Pitman OBE and former jockey Philip Robinson, who rode over 30 Group 1 winners internationally. For a full list of the new panel members, click here.

“Implementing in full the recommendations from the recent Integrity and Quinlan reviews remains a core priority for the BHA this year, and the appointment of this august and talented panel brings us another step closer to that objective,” added a pleased Nick Rust, Chief Executive of the BHA. “We aim for the BHA to be at the forefront of sporting regulation best practice and the appointment of this panel reflects a further step in this direction.”