In the News – Women in Racing

Panel Announcement for “Beyond the Title: Redefining Leadership in Horseracing”

We are delighted to announce the panel line up for our next event “Beyond the Title: Redefining Leadership in Horseracing”, on 17th July at The National Stud in Newmarket.

Anna Kerr

CEO, The National Stud

Anna has worked in a variety of racing and bloodstock roles across the globe including at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, Goodwood Racecourse and Paul Moroney Bloodstock. She joined The National Stud in 2020 to help drive the development of their education programme and marketing. Anna was appointed as CEO in 2022 and is focussed on delivering the strategy for the stud in its mission to support the long-term sustainability of the British Thoroughbred.

Linda Nguyenova

CEO and Founder, KONEKTT

Linda is a founder, investor, and board leader with a career built on backing ambitious people and building things from the ground up. As Founder & CEO of KONEKTT, a data-driven equine care and performance management platform for racing and livery yards – she brings that same drive to modernising the equine industry she has been part of since childhood.

Across seven board roles in her Private Equity career, Linda has led and shaped organisations at every stage, from early-stage accelerators to established funds.

At BGF she spearheaded a £300m commitment to female-powered businesses in the UK; at Endless LLP she developed deep operational and investment expertise; and as a Venture Partner at HUKM Group she guides tech founders from first concept through to launch. Through her board role at The Whole Point, she works to make funding more accessible for regional female founders.

Linda is committed to bringing stronger leadership, better data, and greater ambition to the world of racing – on and off the track.”

Zoe Elliott

Head of Careers Marketing, BHA

Zoe is a senior leader in British horseracing. Her work alongside industry leaders in the Industry People space spans early careers programmes, talent pathways, coaching, digital learning, workplace culture, wellbeing, and equality, diversity and inclusion.

As Head of Careers Marketing at the British Horseracing Authority, Zoe leads a marketing team delivering integrated marketing strategies to support recruitment into the industry. Her work aligns closely with community engagement, education partnerships, and collaboration with training providers across the racing and further education sectors.

With a diverse background in marketing, Zoe has held roles across governing bodies, trade associations, charities, and commercial organisations within the horseracing sector. This breadth of experience underpins her strategic insight and collaborative approach which she combines with a passion for empowering others to succeed.

Sophie Buckley

Owner, Culworth Grounds Farm

Sophie Buckley is the owner of Culworth Grounds Farm, a specialist thoroughbred breeding and sales operation. Sophie began her career as a pinhooker 12 years ago and has been breeding horses for the past eight years. Under her leadership, Culworth Grounds Farm has developed into a diverse equine business, offering stallion services, broodmare boarding and foaling, yearling preparation, and sales and pretraining. With a hands-on approach and a strong focus on horsemanship, Sophie is dedicated to producing and developing quality thoroughbred while building lasting relationship with owners, breeders, and buyers.

Naomi Mellor

CEO, Thoroughbred Breeders Association

After 18 years as an equine vet, Naomi joined the TBA as Chief Executive in 2025. She has been involved with both Women in Racing and Racing Home since 2016, including a spell on the WiR committee, and is passionate about supporting women in their careers within the racing and bloodstock sectors. Naomi has previously worked in both general and hospital equine practice, spent several stud seasons in Australia and been a Veterinary Officer at the BHA. She is also the founder of an audio production business, Everybody Media, and the International Women’s Podcast Awards, through which she built multiple global partnerships, including with the BBC and Amazon Music.

Panel Host – Eileen Harte

Eileen is a Therapeutic Coach, Adlerian Psychotherapist, and Equine-Assisted Practitioner based in North Essex. With over 20 years’ experience as Commercial Director of Keith Harte Bloodstock Ltd and more than a decade mentoring within the racing and bloodstock industry, she combines business expertise with psychology, coaching, and equine-assisted learning. Eileen is passionate about helping people uncover their strengths, challenge limiting beliefs, and develop the confidence and courage to create meaningful change.

Book your tickets by visiting our Events Page

Beyond the Title: Redefining Leadership in Horseracing – 17th July, National Stud, Newmarket

Leadership is about far more than a job title. It’s about influence, confidence, advocacy, and creating opportunities for others. Join us at The National Stud in Newmarket for a day dedicated to exploring what leadership means in horseracing today, and how we can encourage, support and champion more women to step forward and lead in their own way.

The day will bring together people from across the industry for networking, discussion and shared learning in beautiful surroundings. Highlights include a panel discussion examining the different forms leadership can take, the importance of lifting others as we progress, and the role each of us can play in shaping a more inclusive and supportive industry. The programme also includes opportunities to connect with fellow attendees over lunch, as well as an exclusive tour of the stud.

Whether you hold a senior position, manage a team, or are simply looking to make a difference, this event will challenge traditional ideas of leadership and celebrate the impact women have across every level of racing.

Panel guests to be announced shortly.

Book your tickets here: Events

Women in Racing Safeguarding Webinar – 24 June 2026

Everyone has the right to feel safe, respected and valued within racing. Yet we know that speaking up about inappropriate behaviour can sometimes feel difficult, whether through uncertainty, fear of consequences or concerns about being believed.

Join us for this free lunchtime webinar, hosted by Annabel Timmins, who will provide an opportunity to start the conversation about creating safer environments for women in racing. Together, we will explore what inappropriate behaviour can look like, the barriers that can prevent people from raising concerns, and the importance of fostering a culture where everyone feels confident to speak up.

The session will reinforce a simple but important message: if someone’s behaviour makes you feel unsafe, uncomfortable or disrespected, you have the right to say so. Your voice matters, and concerns raised deserve to be listened to.

By encouraging open conversations and greater understanding, we can all play a part in creating environments where everyone feels safe and supported.

Thanks to the generous support of the British Horseracing Authority this webinar is free to attend for members and non-members.

Book your place on our Events page: Events

If you are unable to attend the event live, we will be recording the session and making it available exclusively to WiR Members via our YouTube channel.

Cut a Dash – Interview with Alex Greaves

Alex Greaves spoke to WiR Committee Member Kimberley Priori.

On the 30th anniversary of her Epsom Derby debut, trailblazing ex-professional flat jockey Alex Greaves talks making her mark the world over and that ever-important neck strap

“Nabbing the race from the favourite for the Concorde Cup in South Africa as the crowd chanted “Lady! lady! lady!” – astonished that it was a woman was on the back of the horse – that memory still really tickles me…”

Harare racetrack in Zimbabwe, 1992 sets the picture in a pre-Apartheid South Africa at an exorbitantly attended meeting.

That trailblazing jockey Alex Greaves crystallised her most encountered historical moment as the first female jockey to ride in the Epsom Derby may not arrive as news to some. Rather, it was prefaced by some of her more levelling appointments as a world-travelling professional rider.

South Africa, recalled then as the fruit bowl of the world, an agricultural powerhouse with its lush greenery and heady, feverish climate, held undertones of a tangibly tense atmosphere and fortress mentality.

But it proved alluring for Alex, as she became the first licensed female jockey in the territory with a booking in the Concorde Cup.

“You’d get changed in restrooms, the male showers, wherever was suitable. It was certainly not purpose-built for a female presence there. But I just remember the stands being absolutely packed to the rafters, as the South African racetracks were in those days. They really are and were all about their racing.”

Held to celebrate the racetrack’s centenary year, it provided the spotlight she would become accustomed to in time.

“I beat Muis (Michael, multiple champion South African jockey) Roberts a short head on my horse There’s Magic, and it was just this uproar – to top that, they then saw that I was a woman!” she laughs.

Alex Greaves, the first female rider in the Epsom Derby, the 1000 Guineas, the first female apprentice jockey to ride out her full 3-pound claim, recorded a brace of approximately 300 winners at close of her riding career.

Her principal feat was becoming the first woman to ride a Group One winner in Britain, when she dead-heated for first in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York on Ya Malak, trained by David Nicholls.

“There certainly wasn’t the professionalism and structure that there is now. But you just got on with it. I’ve always had that Yorkshire mentality, and I was simply doing my job” she instructs.

“In the end, you’re in a male-dominated sport and you have to fight your corner. I’m also totally stubborn and if I believed in something, I didn’t give an inch.”Back to Epsom.

Greaves made the international press when partnering resolute 500-1 outsider Portuguese Lil, the filly trained by husband David Nicholls in the 1996 edition of the Epsom Derby. Further, the pair had also campaigned in 1000 Guineas, adding to her series of firsts.

This feat led by example that the qualifying and very delight in participation of an Epsom Derby, would open the door for female representation across elite race-riding as we know it today.

“I was there to enjoy it, plain and simple. I thought “I’m gonna make the most of this experience” and I did. On paper, it was no different to any other race, other than it was over a distance I’d never ridden over and the build-up was obviously greater than anything I’d ever known in my career up to that point” admits Alex.

“If you hit the undulations right, it would be make things a lot easier for you. But of course, you didn’t make a big deal out of it just because of the anticipation surrounding the race. It was just the same scenario, as if the Southern lads were coming up North to ride at Ripon, who’d never ridden there before.”

In truth, she has perpetually charted new ground since she began as a horsewoman. The sheer capacity to hold a horse on the gallops as a tender 12-year-old riding out, would have set her apart.

“A real judge of a race and someone who I really learned from was (trainer) David Barron. I was his apprentice jockey and he really dealt me some great opportunities. You need that as a young person in the sport, male or female, so he really made a mark on my career.”

Greaves maintains it was her horsemanship that kept her on side with more precarious runners in the string.

A poster boy for the handler known for his campaigning of top-tier sprinters, the David Nicholls-trained Proud Native would consistently run over his assigned ability, including his win in the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes and a reserve in the coveted Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint. You might owe this to Alex’s rapport and perseverance with the plainly quirky individual.

“Proud Native was not a straightforward ride. He was a Peter Savill-owned horse, who was another great supporter of ours. The lads just didn’t want to get on him, but I had no qualms about riding him everyday and I really managed to get a tune out of him.”

“When we’d go racing, he needed a Chifney bit at the start and would do a lap after you tried to pull him up.”

His plight in keeping sound points to the fact he would have given everything to his racing owing to Alex.

“When I rode him at Goodwood, I just remember to keep on gripping my neck strap. But when he knew you had confidence in him, he would bounce off it and give it back to you in spades, and because of that, he was great fun.”

She is not pontifical when dealt with the question on her counsel to the new wave of professional lady jockeys. Her ‘straight as an arrow’ demeanour softens; Greaves is instead sympathetic in her view of the next generation.

“It’s a very underrated fact, but a race isn’t always won and lost in the last one hundred yards. People forget that, especially the armchair jockeys who see one tiny perspective from their television” opines Alex.

“There are the other jockeys’ manoeuvres, the other runners and so many more factors a jockey has to contend with, in order to position their horse from the break to that particular point in the race.”

It would be remiss not to touch on the meaning of her legacy.

“I miss the camaraderie of riding professionally, but I still ride out everyday. Keeping my weight down was an issue, so I don’t miss the lack of eating and drinking. And I never want to see a sweatsuit ever again.”

“It’s nice to see that professional female jockeys have more opportunities, that they are more accepted in the weighing room and that there is more structure in place like jockeys’ agents for example, so that you can get on with the riding. It’s great to have broken down some barriers in that sense.”

When people talk about her legacy, what does she hope they say?

In a super coolly coded retort. “The girl did good.”

Quite.

Alex was a guest on Luck on Sunday on 31st May. You can watch the interview here: Alex Greaves on Luck on Sunday

Women in Racing Welcomes First Male Mentors

Welcoming Our First Male Mentors

We are incredibly proud of the strength, diversity, and generosity of our mentoring community. While the Women in Racing Mentoring Programme is dedicated to supporting women across the racing industry, meaningful progress is achieved when everyone plays a role. That is why we are delighted to welcome a number of male mentors to the programme, whose experience, insight, and commitment will help us continue to support women at every stage of their careers.

We are thrilled to introduce our first male mentors: Brant Dunshea, David Letts, John Blake, Richard Wayman and Rishi Persad. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to each of them for supporting the programme and helping us create even more opportunities for women across the industry.

Brant Dunshea

Brant Dunshea was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) in March 2026, having served as Acting Chief Executive Officer since January 2025. Prior to this, he held several senior regulatory roles within the BHA and has built an impressive career in both British and Australian racing administration.

As CEO, Brant leads the BHA, overseeing its strategic direction, governance, stakeholder engagement and operational delivery. He also represents British racing internationally through a number of senior positions, including within the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation (EMHF), and the European Horseracing Scientific Liaison Committee (EHSLC).

Brant is passionate about personal and professional development and has benefited from mentoring throughout his career, both as a mentee and mentor.

Brant Dunshea: On Mentoring

What Mentoring Means to Me

My first memory of mentoring was informal but changed the course of my life. The horse trainer who I learned much from as a young person during my teenage years, supported me through a period where I took the decision to move from working hands on with the horses, to getting involved in the administrative side of the sport. That was how my professional career started, and over the years I’ve worked with various different formal and informal mentors.

Why I Got Involved

Mentoring has helped me make important decisions throughout my career. It has helped me build tools and skills to goal set and break down big problems into small ones in order to achieve longer term objectives. It’s helped me grow and learn, and reflect on my own successes and mistakes in a constructive way. I enjoy sharing my experiences with others to help them grow both professionally and personally.

A Fun Fact

After winning my qualifying round, I made the final of my age category in the 800m Track event at the 2009 World Masters Games. I really enjoy running and still do so every other day.

David Letts

Known for his clarity, empathy and collaborative style, David supports mentees to build confidence, navigate career challenges and identify meaningful next steps. He currently serves as Shared Ownership Lead at the Racehorse Owners Association, where he oversees a range of strategic initiatives and stakeholder engagement activities.

Alongside his professional role, David is deeply involved in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within racing. He chairs Racing With Pride and is a member of the sport’s Diversity Advisory Group. His academic achievements include a PhD exploring organisational culture and masculinities within British horseracing, as well as an MBA focused on the experiences of sexual minorities in racing.

David Letts: On Mentoring

What Mentoring Means to Me

I set up a reciprocal mentoring scheme in a previous role and saw the direct benefits of building relationships in this way across the organisation. Not only did it foster positive career conversations, but it also increased feelings of inclusion and greater sense of openness amongst colleagues.

I have previously mentored individuals and have taken great satisfaction in seeing their development, whether personal- or career-focused.

Why I Got Involved

I have personally seen the value that mentoring can provide to both mentee and mentor. I enjoy taking the time to build a rapport with any mentee to understand their motivations and aspirations, and collectively build a plan to help them reach their aims.

Women in Racing’s Mentoring Programme has added huge value to the racing industry over many years and it is a pleasure to be involved in this progression of the scheme to include male mentors for the first time.

John Blake

John Blake is Chief Executive of Racing to School, the education and community engagement charity that works across the horseracing industry. His career has spanned broadcasting, journalism, sports governance and the charitable sector, giving him a unique perspective on leadership and career development.

John has also held a variety of voluntary and trustee positions, demonstrating a longstanding commitment to supporting others both within and beyond racing.

John Blake: On Mentoring

What Mentoring Means to Me

I see Mentoring as a two-way process – of mutual value and learning. Such support is not about solving someone’s challenges but creating ideas and maybe re-framing through listening and asking questions. A Mentor’s contribution needs not to be limited to talking to someone but at times talking about them to help with visibility and progression.

I’ve been fortunate to have been asked to support a range of people during my career, often for specific things and at key times in their lives connected with their careers.

Why I Got Involved

I’ve always enjoyed a range of voluntary roles – as Trustee of a charity supporting those with Gambling-related harm; a Metropolitan Police Custody Suite Visitor that supported the rights of detainees, and my own career roles have provided insight and helped shape and improve my approach to mentoring, which I am keen to develop further.

A Fun Fact

As early jobs go, my time during student holidays as a gravedigger forms an indelible memory. Not a glamorous role for sure! But on my last day – of two summer stints – I was told by my boss that ‘one day you could be running this place’. A man can receive no greater compliment than that, as the intervening years have proved!

Richard Wayman

Richard Wayman rejoined the BHA in 2016 and currently serves as Director of Racing. In this role, he oversees the Racing Department, Participant Services team and the Handicappers, while also representing racing on the Levy Board and the industry’s Commercial Committee.

A lifelong racing enthusiast, Richard’s career has included roles with William Hill, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the British Racing School, the Racehorse Owners Association and the British Horseracing Board. He remains actively involved in racehorse ownership and brings extensive leadership and industry experience to the mentoring programme.

Rishi Persad

Rishi Persad is one of the UK’s most recognised and respected sports broadcasters. Since beginning his racing broadcasting career with Attheraces in 2002, he has gone on to work with Channel 4 Racing, the BBC, ITV Racing and Racing TV.

Beyond horseracing, Rishi has covered a wide range of sports including golf, tennis, cricket, eventing, snooker and bowls. He has also been part of the BBC’s coverage of the last six Olympic Games, highlighting his versatility and breadth of experience across the sporting world.

The Value of Diverse Perspectives

Our male mentors bring a wealth of experience from across the racing industry and beyond, offering valuable insight, guidance and support to mentees. Their willingness to share knowledge, champion development and invest their time reflects a collective commitment to supporting the progression of women in racing.

Mentoring is built on perspective, encouragement and opportunity. By bringing together mentors from different backgrounds and experiences, we can provide our mentees with access to a broader range of viewpoints, advice and professional networks.

We are extremely grateful to our male mentors for their support and contribution to the programme. Their involvement plays an important role in helping us build a more inclusive, supportive and progressive racing industry.

If you are considering the next step in your career, why not explore our mentor profiles on the mentoring page? We would love to help you find the right mentor to support your professional journey.

Tour of Ballydoyle with Women in Racing Ireland

Women in Racing Ireland (WinR) have kindly offered the opportunity for WiR members to attend their upcoming tour of Ballydoyle Stables on Wednesday 10th June for the same discounted rate as their own members – €100.

The itinerary includes a private guided tour of Ballydoyle Racing Stables and the historic Legacy Museum at Coolmore Stud; an exclusive private lunch at the Cashel Palace Hotel and coach transfers to and from Cashel Palace Hotel.

We are incredibly grateful to the WinR committee for offering access to this amazing opportunity to our members.

More information on how to take up this offer can be found in the Members Area.

WiR Partnership with ARC

WiR are pleased to announce a partnership with Arena Racing Company (ARC).

As part of the partnership, all female members of ARC staff are entitled to free WiR membership. In return all WiR members have access to two exclusive race ticket offers:

Exclusive Women In Racing ARC annual membership – just £149!

Annual Membership across Arena Racing Company offers entry to over 500 fixtures across all 16 ARC racecourses. Plus, additional discounts on drinks and restaurants, guest passes, free racecards and some extra perks along the way.

25% off racing tickets

If a one-off day at the races is more appealing, then save 25% off tickets across ARC fixtures. Simply visit the racecourse website, select your fixture and enter the promotional code (which you will find in the Members Area) and your exclusive ticket will appear!

T&Cs: 25% offer on tickets will be based on the “advance” price rate and will be available right up until 24 hours prior to the day. Maximum of 4 tickets per booking. Subject to availability. Excludes certain fixtures. Full T&Cs available in the package description.

Visit the Members Area of this site to get your exclusive discount codes.

History Made at Churchill Downs

On 2nd May 2026 barriers were broken at Churchill Downs when Golden Tempo, under Jose Ortiz, produced a stunning last to first run to take the 152nd Kentucky Derby by a neck, securing trainer Cherie DeVaux’s place in history as the first female trainer to win the “Run for the Roses”.

A former assistant to Chad Brown, Cherie has trained under her own name since 2018.

Reflecting on the significance of the occasion, she said: “I’m glad I can be a representative of women everywhere that we can do anything we set our minds to.”

She is the second female trainer to win a leg of the US Triple Crown, following on from Jena Antonuccui’s win in the 2023 Belmont Stakes with Arcangelo.

Watch the race here

Chasing History – Female Trainers & Jockeys in the English Guineas

For many racing fans, Guineas weekend signals the true beginning of the Flat season, as the best three-year-old colts and fillies line up in pursuit of Classic glory in the 2000 and 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

2,000 Guineas

Since the inaugural running in April 1809, there have been no officially recorded female-trained winners of the 2,000 Guineas.

That said, history adds an important footnote. The 1956 winner Giles de Retz was trained by Helen Johnson Houghton, but at the time women were not permitted to hold licences under Jockey Club rules. Officially, the credit went to her assistant, Charles Jerdein. Her achievement was belatedly recognised in 1977 after she became one of the first women admitted to the Jockey Club alongside Priscilla Hastings and Ruth Wood, Countess of Halifax.

Fast forward seventy years, and there was a sense that history could repeat itself with her granddaughter, Eve Johnson Houghton, aiming the talented Zavateri at the race. Unfortunately, the colt was ruled out of the race last week due to a setback.

When it comes to the saddle, the record is just as striking.

Despite the race’s long history, a female jockey has never ridden the winner of the 2,000 Guineas. This statistic is put into stark relief when we consider the fact that there has only ever been one female rider in the race itself:

Saffie Osborne, who finished 8th aboard Ten Bob Tony in 2024.

It’s a remarkable statistic for the modern sporting era, considering how many talented female riders are available, and one that underlines just how slowly representation has filtered into racing’s most traditional spaces.

1000 Guineas

First run in April 1814, there have been four female-trained winners of the 1,000 Guineas with the first coming in 1983.

Three of those came from one of the most accomplished modern day trainers, Criquette Head-Maarek, who struck with:

Ma Biche (1983)
Ravinella (1988)
Special Duty (2010)

The fourth was Pam Sly, who produced Speciosa to win in 2006 at 10-1.

While female trainers have made their mark sporadically, opportunities for female jockeys in the 1,000 Guineas have remained limited.

To date, only three have ridden in the race:

Josephine Gordon – 14th in 2017
Hollie Doyle – 6th in 2024
Hollie Doyle – 9th in 2025

In the 2026 renewal, Saffie Osborne became the 3rd individual female jockey to ride in the race aboard Touleen, owned by Shadwell and trained by Owen Burrows, finishing 6th.

The history books show that progress has been made, but only in small steps. As more opportunities emerge at the highest level, we hope to see that racing continues to broaden the range of names we see competing at the very top of the sport.

International Women’s Day 2026

In recognition of International Women’s Day 2026, Women in Racing invited women working across the British racing industry – spanning a variety of roles, backgrounds and experiences – to share their thoughts on a topic important to them, or their aspirations for the year ahead.

Their responses form a collection of engaging and thought-provoking perspectives, reflecting the diversity of voices within our sport and the remarkable talent that drives it forward. Our sincere thanks go to everyone who contributed their time and insights. We hope you find their reflections both inspiring and enjoyable as we celebrate the women making a difference in British racing.

Read their comments here:

Women in Racing International Women’s Day Article