Horseracing Bettors Forum invites new member applications

September 16^th 2019

The Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF) is today inviting applications from the betting community to replace outgoing members as part of a planned periodic refresh of its membership.

HBF recruits by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. HBF would welcome applications from a broad range of the public to ensure the group is as diverse and inclusive as possible.

Colin Hord , Chair of HBF, said “The HBF has become an important voice for punters within horseracing. Once again we are looking to renew our membership, and ensure we have new blood in the forum. The forum is keen to have applications from people with a wide range of interest and experience in betting, we would welcome applicattions from  women and those who have traditionally tended to be under-represented within betting and horseracing.  I would be more than happy to speak to anyone interested in applying to join HBF if they would like more information before submitting an application. I can be contacted at chair@ukhbf.org.

The HBF was established in September 2015 to represent the views of those who bet on British horseracing, and to act on behalf of bettors with the bodies who make policy decisions in this area. The HBF was created with the assistance of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), and maintains a good working relationship with the sport’s governing and regulatory body, but is independent of it.

HBF comprises up to nine voluntary members, chosen for their knowledge of  the horseracing betting environment and their ability to represent the betting public. Forum members will be required to meet four times a year, attend meetings with external stakeholders, when required, and to correspond extensively between meetings. HBF members will be asked to serve a three-year term on the Forum.

Those interested and who consider themselves in possession of appropriate knowledge and experience are kindly requested to contact HBF via email at applications@ukhbf.org specifying in no more than 500 words why they would like to be considered for the role, including contact details (a CV is not required).

Preference will be given to applicants who:

• Demonstrate a proven interest in matters of concern to the British horseracing betting public
• Provide evidence of understanding/experience of topical subject matters impacting the British racing betting landscape
• Are prepared to commit to assisting the HBF, such as through internal discussion and case-study work, in addition to being available to meet four times a year (usually in London).

All positions with HBF are unpaid, though reasonable travel expenses to official HBF meetings may be claimed by members, by prior agreement. This is an opportunity to represent a group that is key to the future prosperity of the sport of horseracing and to further the positive impact HBF is having on behalf of UK horseracing bettors.

The closing date for applications is 11th October  2019, with a view to new members joining HBF for the first meeting of 2020, scheduled for January.

Successful Forum applicants will be notified by the Chair before the end of October 2019.

Further information about the activities of the HBF and its remit can be found on its website at https://ukhbf.org/.

Notes to editors:

1. The Horseracing Bettors Forum was created in August 2015, with the assistance of the BHA to represent the interests of those who bet on British horseracing.  HBF actively solicit views from punters via the HBF’s annual survey, the results of the survey then allow the forum to prioritise these views which are used to form our annual agenda.
2. The HBF seeks to ensure that those interests are understood and taken into account in relevant decision-making processes, for the good of both bettors and the sport of horseracing in Britain.
3. The HBF consists of nine members – all voluntary and unpaid – who convene roughly once every three months to discuss issues that they feel are relevant to British horseracing punters. While the HBF has no mandatory powers it seeks to influence in accordance with its stated objectives and policies with other industry bodies.