Sir Philip Davies has taken up an interim board post at the British Horseracing Authority, representing racecourses through the Racecourse Association. He replaces Wilf Walsh and becomes one of two member nominated directors supplied by the RCA. The appointment puts a former parliamentarian with long experience in racing and betting into the sport’s central governing body.
Interim racecourse director replaces Walsh
The British Horseracing Authority and gambling industry media confirmed that the RCA selected Davies through its internal procedure and appointed him as its member nominated director on an interim basis. Wilf Walsh had held one of the RCA’s two member nominated director positions since October 2021. Under the BHA’s articles, the racecourse member may appoint two directors with appropriate practical experience in the horseracing industry. The announcements did not state how long Davies’s interim term is expected to last. The appointment took effect this week, according to the announcements.
Political career and industry roles
Davies joined the RCA board earlier this year after leaving parliament in 2024. He represented Shipley as an MP from 2005 to 2024. During his time in Westminster, he jointly led the all-party group on betting and gaming and served as vice-chair of the all-party group on racing and bloodstock. The betting and gaming group launched an inquiry into the review of the 2005 Gambling Act and the 2023 white paper that followed it, according to iGaming Business. Davies currently chairs both the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and the National Horseracing College in Doncaster. He has also been a board member of the Racehorse Owners Association.
Davies: racecourses at the centre
Davies said he was “delighted to be joining the BHA Board” and wanted to represent racecourse interests. He called racing a sport and industry for which he had long held a strong interest and said he looked forward to working with board members and stakeholders to support its long-term success. The RCA’s two nominated directors are intended to bring racecourse perspectives to the sport’s governing body, although the announcement did not set out specific policy positions for Davies.
BHA chair welcomes new director
Simon Cox, chair of the BHA, welcomed the appointment. Cox said Davies had been “a strong advocate for racing and betting” during his parliamentary career and had helped fellow politicians understand the sport’s concerns. He also thanked Wilf Walsh for his board contribution over the past five years. Cox took over as the BHA’s non-executive chair at the start of October, having been named earlier in the year.
Tax debate frames funding concerns
Davies joins during a period of tax uncertainty for racing. Some in the industry expect a possible increase in machine gaming duty in the upcoming October budget. Regulus estimated that doubling the duty would cost horse racing roughly £92 million annually, equivalent to about one-third of its betting-derived income, as cited by Gaming Intelligence. Greg Swift, the BHA’s director of communications and corporate affairs, urged the government to consider the secondary impact on racing of a tax rise on betting shops and to support the 85,000 jobs that British racing sustains. Swift also asked the government to explore measures to put British racing on a long-term and sustainable financial footing. It is not yet known whether the budget will contain any change to machine gaming duty.
