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I won’t sleep until I see Dianne Abbot fronting ITV Racing.
Mike
No she won’t be doing that – ITV is reshuffling the current team and offering her Matt Chapman’s old role.
This thread is a load of political correctness bollox and is one reason why I don’t bother posting on this forum.
You’re a real loss.
Good on you Gladiator for bringing it up – the BHA report shows that there clearly IS an issue around diversity so why shouldn’t we discuss it?
I do believe that presenters and pundits should be picked on their merits but the real problem is the lack of ethnic diversity in the sport as a whole meaning there are very few people to choose from. If you watch Athletics you’ll see black pundits like Michael Johnston, Colin Jackson, Denise Lewis etc but obviously there are many more black people in the sport so the talent pool is wider. In football there’s Thierry Henry, Garth Crooks and Rio Ferdinand but unfortunately we have very few racing people from ethnic minorities. Hopefully that will change in time and I’m sure if/when it does we will see more people from all backgrounds on our screens.
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
This thread is a load of political correctness bollox and is one reason why I don’t bother posting on this forum.
You’re a real loss.
Good on you Gladiator for bringing it up – the BHA report shows that there clearly IS an issue around diversity so why shouldn’t we discuss it?
I do believe that presenters and pundits should be picked on their merits but the real problem is the lack of ethnic diversity in the sport as a whole meaning there are very few people to choose from. If you watch Athletics you’ll see black pundits like Michael Johnston, Colin Jackson, Denise Lewis etc but obviously there are many more black people in the sport so the talent pool is wider. In football there’s Thierry Henry, Garth Crooks and Rio Ferdinand but unfortunately we have very few racing people from ethnic minorities. Hopefully that will change in time and I’m sure if/when it does we will see more people from all backgrounds on our screens.
A BHA report doesn’t show anything more than they wanted to tick the political correctness box.
You could have had this discussion 20 years ago and almost certainly in another 20 years nothing will have changed because I suspect most people, black or white don’t see it as much of an issue.
There are no are no obvious barriers stopping a greater black involvement in the sport. It is their choice not to take their involvement much beyond the betting shop.
This thread is a load of political correctness bollox and is one reason why I don’t bother posting on this forum.
You’re a real loss.
Good on you Gladiator for bringing it up – the BHA report shows that there clearly IS an issue around diversity so why shouldn’t we discuss it?
I do believe that presenters and pundits should be picked on their merits but the real problem is the lack of ethnic diversity in the sport as a whole meaning there are very few people to choose from. If you watch Athletics you’ll see black pundits like Michael Johnston, Colin Jackson, Denise Lewis etc but obviously there are many more black people in the sport so the talent pool is wider. In football there’s Thierry Henry, Garth Crooks and Rio Ferdinand but unfortunately we have very few racing people from ethnic minorities. Hopefully that will change in time and I’m sure if/when it does we will see more people from all backgrounds on our screens.
A BHA report doesn’t show anything more than they wanted to tick the political correctness box.
You could have had this discussion 20 years ago and almost certainly in another 20 years nothing will have changed because I suspect most people, black or white don’t see it as much of an issue.
There are no are no obvious barriers stopping a greater black involvement in the sport. It is their choice not to take their involvement much beyond the betting shop.
Yes – I’m sure people were saying similar things about football back in the 80’s.
Richie Persad – “I used to go to a betting shop in north London which was like a West Indies community group with people from Barbados, Grenada etc, but not too many of them felt they were welcome at a race course, there is a perception that needs to change. Even when I would tell them that there was nothing to be intimidated by, there was still a reluctance. A lot more can be done and there is no getting away from the fact that the lack of diversity is obvious, the sport is hugely Caucasian and when you do get people from other cultures attending racing they stand out because it isn’t a regular occurrence.”
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
Racing has far bigger diversity problems than the colour of people’s skin.
What about Nepotism for starters? How many are in the positions they are because their, father, brother, mother were/are trainers? It’s an endless gravy train of ex-jockeys as well. Getting paid to give duff insight and obvious tips. Frankie Dettori for starters, is Prozac, trotting out the obvious and tipping an odds-on favourite.
There is also far too much pish from Bookies reps. The other day, some trumped up think panel were on the Racing Post website discussing the value or other wise in Crystal Ocean for the Derby. I couldn’t believe the rubbish they were talking and imploring people to take 12/1 for the Derby before the “Value” went. What a scurrilous carry on.
The trouble is that most punters are so clueless that they don’t realise they are being bent over a barrel and rogered wholesale.
Then the bookies themselves are a shambles, the markets for the Classics are a damn disgrace and they piss themselves and cut the odds after taking 10 bob worth of bets.
A lot more of that shite should be getting seen to first, before we worry about more mixed ethnicity on a forum.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Jesus save me from all this virtue signaling.
I like watching racing just to get away from the obligatory ethnic presence. It reminds me of better days.
Like when people didn’t drive cars to deliberately run over people and young girls in their thousands weren’t groomed by muslim gangs, and stabbings weren’t an epidemic in Khan’s London. But let’s not mention any of that. The real problem in Britain is an all white panel on ITV’s racing program.Sean Levey’s win in last week’s classic had me wondering why there are so few black people in racing. If you visit a racecourse the participants and spectators are almost exclusively white.
Why is that? Racing bemoans a labour shortage yet there is high unemployment levels among young black people in the UK.
Is it just simply that there is no interest in the sport among young black people? If so, what is racing doing about that? Is there any strategy in place to examine or address this?
It seems like an elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about or even acknowledge.
Good point, Cormack, and yet betting shops in many urban areas are patronised by a large number of Afro-Caribbean customers.
They tend to be older, however, and culturally/socially it’s hard to think of a wider divide than that between young British black people, who are generally working class and live in cities/towns, and the middle and upper class white folk, often based in the countryside, who traditionally have and continue to administrate and participate in the sport. A child from what background is more likely to join the Pony Club!
A glance at the BHA ‘strategic objectives and progress’ document from 2016 reveals no mention of inclusiveness.
Here’s the last thread on the subject, started a year ago tomorrow
https://theracingforum.co.uk/forums/topic/100-guaranteed-banker/
Blackbeard to conquer the World
Don’t think it’s just racing, there are many sports where black people don’t participate: motor racing (all types), swimming/diving, golf, tennis, etc. There are more sports without black participants than there are with I think. Plus, dare I say it, there’s so much emphasis on soccer/football that other sports probably don’t even register with them as possible careers.
Sulekha Varma used to post on here but I haven’t seen any of her posts in ages.
It’s interesting that she is one of the few BAME people in the “middle” of the racing hierarchy- you see plenty of Asian stable lads/lasses and obviously you have the Arabs at the top of the food chain, but there aren’t many coloured faces in between.
I haven’t quite disappeared entirely!
I’m pleased to see this discussion raised and even more pleased to be able to share that we are on the road to improving the situation. It is going to be an extremely long road, but, like every other sport, racing is working to improve diversity and inclusion for its workforce, participants and spectators.
On the back of the publication of the Oxford Brookes study into Women’s Representations and Diversity in the horseracing industry (http://www.womeninracing.co.uk/Portals/0/Oxford%20Brookes_Women’s%20representation%20and%20diversity%20in%20the%20horseracing%20industry%20full%20report.pdf) a group was set up to assist the industry in tackling lack of diversity and improving inclusion in all areas of the sport, not just for women but for all underrepresented groups.
The Diversity in Racing Steering Group have now met 4 times and will be publishing an Action Plan in the coming weeks. In that document, will be some ‘quick wins’ and some longer term aims and initiatives.
The group is a large one (c15 members) but made up of individuals with expertise and skills in different areas of the sport and from different backgrounds. The BHA have recognised that improving diversity and inclusion in our sport is crucial to its future success and I am glad to be a part of making it happen.
This isn’t something we will be able to do overnight, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be doing it. There is a moral need and a proven commercial benefit when a diverse audience and workforce engages with a sport.
There’s a bit more information on the Diversity In Racing Steering Group here https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/membership-british-racings-first-ever-diversity-steering-group-finalised/
Thanks for that Sulekha. Great to see that there is action imminent.
I look forward to reading the action plan, meantime feel free to post any updates on here by way of publicising the work if appropriate.
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