'Excellent operator' Julie Harrington is backed to lead horse racing out of crisis

Julie Harrington, newly appointed as the first female chief executive of racing’s ruling body, has been hailed as “an excellent operator” by the official who first brought her into the sport. Rod Street, who runs the sports promotional wing Great British Racing these days, was in charge of a racecourse group in 2002 when he hired her away from British Airways, and he was delighted by the news, revealed on Tuesday, that she is to take over the British Horseracing Authority in January.

“She’s always had that good balance between being decisive and a good leader but also managing to get people on board and deliver things,” Street said of Harrington, whose experience at a senior level in other sports made her an attractive candidate. The chief executive of British Cycling since 2017, Harrington was previously operations director at the FA, in charge of Wembley Stadium and the training facility at St George’s Park.

Cycling has been beset by difficult issues during her time there and yet her new job must be regarded as the greatest challenge she has faced, the Covid-19 crisis having put the sport’s finances in a parlous condition. The Horsemen’s Group and the Racecourse Association are at daggers drawn on the issue of prize money amid talk of racecourses and trainers being forced out of business.

Betting shop closures represent another threat to racing’s income and Harrington will also have to deal with the impact of Brexit and potentially tighter regulation of gambling. Surely she did not sign up for an easy ride.

But Street has no doubt she has the qualities necessary to guide racing through these troubled times, if anyone can. “I think there was a sense from pretty early doors, when we took Julie on, that she was destined for bigger things, just because she’s clearly got a lot of ability. She did a remarkable job at St George’s Park, delivering the aspirations of some senior people at the FA. Football is another sport riddled with stakeholder challenges and she managed that deftly.

“She came to us with a background in the brewing industry which, in the 90s, would have been a very male-dominated industry, quite a tough industry to work in, and she moved from there to British Airways, so she’s had a very deep grounding in commercial business. But she’s crossed so many disciplines now, I think it proves she’s very good with people and relationships.

“At the heart of it, she’s an incredibly likeable person and she gets respect wherever she goes because she’s smart and talks sense. Her ability is self evident and she has a down-to-earth pragmatic manner which I think people respond to.”

It is understood that there were strong internal candidates for the role, including Richard Wayman, the BHA’s chief operating officer since 2015. But the regulator has got into the habit of taking its chief executive from elsewhere, Nic Coward from football, Paul Bittar from Australia and Nick Rust from betting.

When he announced his intention to quit in January, Rust said that a planned five-year programme of work on the sport’s welfare standards meant this was the right time to hand over. Reviving that programme, which has since been forced to the margins, will be among the challenges facing the new appointee.

The BHA press office said Harrington would not be available for interview while she works out her notice at British Cycling. It issued a statement on her behalf in which she is quoted as saying: “I’m so excited to be coming home to racing and playing my part helping this great sport to achieve a prosperity from which everyone benefits. I know how important collaboration across racing has been over the past few months and I look forward to working with colleagues from all parts of the sport.

“The BHA and its team of dedicated officials do a great job in keeping racing safe, clean and fair. I am proud to take on this leadership role in such a well-regulated sport, which enriches the lives of horses and people, and has a special place at the centre of national life and our rural communities.”