Lord Charles Allen has resigned as chairman of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) after its members were unable to reach an agreement to establish an independent Board.

Lord Allen was nominated to serve as chairman of the BHA in late-2024 but only took up his post last September after securing assurances from industry stakeholders that they would support significant changes to the sport’s governance.

Lord Allen took on the role after the member organisations of the BHA – Racecourse Association, Racehorse Owners Association, Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association and Licensed Personnel – unanimously agreed that there should be a completely independent board and that the BHA should have a commercial remit.

The members, who currently nominate representatives to the Board, have not been able to reach agreement between themselves on changing the rules of the BHA to allow the achievement of those two goals, resulting in Lord Allen’s resignation.

“The Board would like to thank Charles [Lord Allen] for the time and effort that he has put into the role helping us to develop a vision that is aspirational and achievable, and we regret that we were unable to put in place at this time the governance changes that would have enabled us to progress this,” said David Jones, senior independent director of the BHA. “I have enjoyed working with him and wish him continued success.”

Lord Allen commented: “Horseracing is an amazing sport with great potential and over the last year I have met some incredibly passionate people who love the sport who believe to survive and prosper that change is needed. I also want to pay tribute to the hardworking and dedicated BHA team. I wish the sport well for the future.”

Following the failure of BHA members to establish an independent Board, The Jockey Club and four other leading UK racecourses have called for an urgent review of Racecourse Association (RCA) governance to support industry change.

Ascot, Goodwood, The Jockey Club, Newbury and York Racecourses have written to the chairman of the RCA, calling for a formal governance review of the RCA and requesting a proposal for reform by the end of April.

The objectives are aimed at ensuring that Board and voting representation is balanced and credible; significant views from key racecourses can influence outcomes; and the organisation can act decisively on matters affecting the wider industry.

In calling for reform of the RCA, the signatories are making it clear that they remain committed to working collaboratively across the sport and support strong central leadership for British racing by the BHA, enabled by the establishment of an independent BHA board.

They also believe that the present BHA governance arrangements prevent timely and effective decision-making, and require a constructive governance review of the RCA to ensure that they are able to effectively participate in decisions that influence the future of the sport.

The current one member, one vote system of governance at the BHA is said to give undue influence to smaller racecourses.