Ex-fa Man Takes On Top Racing Job

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the new governing and regulatory
authority for the sport, has appointed its first chief executive in the form of
former FA legal affairs director Nic Coward.

The 40-year old Coward will work alongside BHA’s first chairman Paul Roy –
whose appointment was announced last month – from the organisation’s inception
early in 2007, when it will assume the current governance role of the British
Horseracing Board (BHB) and the regulatory functions carried out by the
Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA).

After 10 years at The Football Association, Coward left in 2004 to join AS
Biss & Co where he has been deputy chairman since July 2005, and helped
establish its leading sports advocacy service.

Both appointments were overseen by a Nominations Panel comprising Robert
Hughes (chairman, Horserace Betting Levy Board), John Bridgeman (chairman, HRA)
and Martin Broughton (chairman, BHB), and Coward’s selection was ratified by
BHA’s four Members: the Racecourse Association, the Racehorse Owners
Association, the Thoroughbred Breeders Association and a group combining
licensed personnel in the sport, led by the National Trainers Federation.