CEO Column: Owners Deserve Better

It has been said that the ROA CEO’s role is one of the most challenging in the industry, given the various owner interests we must represent. I disagree. It is not difficult to identify the three key areas of  importance to owners: prize-money, costs, and experience. 

Quite simply, owners want to feel recognised and rewarded for their involvement,  something clearly highlighted in feedback from our survey last year. For some owners it is one of these areas, for others all three, or a combination that determines their priorities.

The sport must recognise the collective value and contribution that owners bring to British racing – over £500 million each year excluding the initial purchase costs – and a clear need for the ROA to be the voice of owners across a challenging industry landscape made up of countless committees, working groups and often fragmented interests. 

Whichever way we look at the sport, we rely heavily on owners getting involved and staying involved. Every horse in training needs an owner to financially support the wider ecosystem that benefits trainers, their teams and jockeys.

We also need to understand the landscape within which racing operates, including the regulatory role of the BHA and the way racecourses operate, as each depends on the other to deliver the rewards and experiences that attract and retain owners. That involvement may continue through ownership or develop into building a  breeding operation.

Often, the challenges are not caused by owners not knowing what they want or need. More commonly, they stem from within; complex processes layered with legacy decision-making forums, vote counting and long-held practices that are no longer fit for purpose. Building a ‘them and us’ narrative within the sport fails to deliver the change racing so desperately needs. My role, alongside the Board, is to ensure that owners’ voices are heard. It is encouraging to see changes being implemented and reviews undertaken that acknowledge the serious concerns raised by the ROA on behalf of owners.

This also gives the ROA momentum to strengthen our own approach, ensuring our voice is recognised at the highest level and helping create the impetus for change that owners need and deserve. That must align with the forums we contribute to directly and influence those who benefit from retaining and growing the ownership audience.

The ROA has moved swiftly into operational discussions, bringing solution-focused challenge that is data-led and insight-driven. Retention in ownership remains difficult, with an average annual loss of 6% of owners, and we need to reduce that risk by focusing on cost reduction, simplification and improved rewards, both financially and experientially.

Our work with racecourses on the raceday experience has already delivered change and continues to evolve, with owner feedback reflecting those improvements. Further work is progressing to understand the off-course experience, given that the relationship with trainers accounts for a significant part of each owner’s involvement. That critical partnership can heavily influence retention efforts across the sport, whether through best practice, industry platforms that enhance and standardise communication, or systems that protect all parties and help resolve difficult 
situations.

We want to target and support financial benefits for owners from both the top down and bottom up. The ROA is developing plans and ideas that could see investment delivered across the ownership pyramid from 2027 onwards. 

We also need to establish a suitable and sustainable funding model for the sport that alleviates the heavy burden placed on owners through annual increases, which have equated to more than 19% centrally over the last three years. Part of this means driving forward the BHA’s Industry Funding Review, realigning cost versus value, and creating sustainable long-term models fit for purpose. To my mind, applying increase upon increase to a declining ownership base leads to only one outcome – and it is not a positive one.

Whilst the ROA cannot make central decisions, it can be a strong influence, and we need the support of all owners to continue this critical work. It underpins the activities we undertake on your behalf and ultimately ensures that the benefits of ROA membership provide added value rather than being the basis of involvement. 

Building our position as the owners’ stakeholder body rather than solely a member representative organisation is gaining traction. There is growing acknowledgement of the critical contribution owners  make  each year and of the serious long-term risk presented by the current rate of decline.

The sport is rich in history, but the modern landscape is constantly evolving and full of opportunity. Yet if we continue to apply the same logic, we risk creating further stagnation, conflict and an increasingly out-of-touch reality that will ultimately damage the sport.

We have an amazing product: owners, from those with micro shares to major investors, and other participants are all equally enthusiastic and committed to their involvement in British racing. Yet too often we press the self-destruct button at a time when we face significant challenges around affordability, equine welfare and wider economic pressures. 

From the outside looking in, no one is interested in the complexities created by our internal working practices. They want to see a strong, unified and robust horseracing 
industry with a clear long-term vision, one capable of building support, retaining and growing engagement, and protecting the sport for years to come.