Annual Horseracing Industry Conference takes place at London campus

Published on 8 February 2019

The second annual horseracing industry conference, delivered in partnership with The Racing Foundation, took place on Tuesday 5th February 2019 at the University of Liverpool in London campus.

Bringing together expertise from sector leaders and higher education researchers, the conference explored how the application of cutting edge research can help the UK horseracing industry thrive.

Over 100 delegates attended including key figures from organisations such as The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), Jockey Club Racecourses, Godolphin, Horse Racing Ireland and the National Trainers Federation (NTF).

Keynote speakers at the conference included Professor Ian McHale and Professor David Forrest, University of Liverpool, Dr Madeline Campbell, Royal Veterinary College University of London, and Martin Fewell, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs British Horseracing Industry Conference.

Students and recent graduates of the Management School’s Thoroughbred Horseracing Industries MBA (THIMBA) programme also attended the event. A number of graduates presented their research projects, addressing key issues within the sector such as the wellbeing of racecourse trainers, sexual orientation in British horseracing and the retirement of thoroughbreds.

Both the conference and the studies presented received press coverage from Racing Post¹.

Neil Coster, Director of Studies for the THIMBA programme, said “It was great to see MBA graduates sharing the findings from their ground-breaking studies and engaging with senior delegates from across the horseracing industry. I look forward to seeing how their research can now be applied and used to help inform decision making.”

Elizabeth Maitland, Associate Dean MBA, commented “The Horseracing Industry Conference is a key part of ULMS corporate engagement activities and highlights the importance of strong relationships between industries, organisations and university researchers. Working collaboratively, we can not only train the leaders of the future, we can help to address pressing problems and identify new opportunities facing businesses, government and society.”

The conference marked the first event in the re-launch of the THIMBA programme. The new design features a blended learning environment, making it more accessible to potential students who are currently working within the horseracing sector. Applications are now open for September 2019 entry and there are multiple industry-sponsored scholarships available.