The Jockey Club announces new members and William Sporborg joins the Board of Stewards
The Jockey Club today announces that seven new ordinary members and one new honorary member have been elected.
The seven new ordinary members are:
Victoria Dunn – Founder of Streamland Media (formerly The Farm Group), an international company with bases in the US, Canada and Amsterdam, Victoria is currently a racecourse committee member at Sandown Park, having served for 14 years on the Kempton Park committee. She has horses in training with Nicky Henderson and Jamie Osborne. In 2020, Vicki received a BAFTA Television Craft Special Award in recognition of her exceptional career and dedication to the field of television post-production.
Brian Finch – Currently Chairman of Epsom Downs Racecourse, having worked for 31 years at British American Tobacco, Brian is also a racecourse committee member at Sandown Park. Chairman of the BHA Racing Group (formerly the Race Planning Committee) and a Trustee of the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket, Brian has owned horses in various countries for more than 25 years.
David Maxwell – A leading amateur Jump jockey, David has ridden close to 70 winners under Rules and been champion amateur Jump jockey on two occasions. A real estate investor, he rides his own horses and is a frequent participant on big racedays and at the major festivals.
Simon Munir – A leading racehorse owner, Simon’s ‘double green’ colours are a regular sight on British racecourses with horses often owned in partnership with Isaac Souede. His best horses have been jumpers, including the multiple Grade One winners Sceau Royal and Bristol de Mai. He is CEO of Galaxy Monaco SARL and a Director of a number of food companies.
Simon Philip – Now retired from working as a partner at Deloitte, Simon is a racecourse committee member at Epsom Downs and Kempton Park as well as Chairman of Epsom Training Grounds Management Board. Also Chairman of Kent County Cricket Club, Simon led the group which owned the four-time Grade One winner and Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Might Bite.
The Hon Frances Stanley – A former Newmarket Racecourse committee member for 10 years, who also served as a steward at Yarmouth and Lingfield Racecourses, Frances is the Chairman of the National Horseracing Museum (NHRM) and is married to Peter who runs New England Stud in Newmarket. She is also Chairman of Presents Galore, the Newmarket Christmas Fair, which has raised funds for the NHRM, Racing Welfare and the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital. Frances has also ridden in the historic Newmarket Town Plate.
Nicholas Wright – A farmer and chartered surveyor, Nicholas is a racecourse committee member at Huntingdon and formerly on the committee at Newmarket Racecourses. Nicholas owns a small string of point to pointers and hunter chasers and also owns shares in mares – he was the co-breeder of Group Two winner Misheer. Professionally he has had a diverse portfolio of business interests ranging from engineering, farming and property.
The Jockey Club has also appointed a new Honorary Member in Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa. TheGrandson of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and eldest son of the Crown Prince Salman, he is second in line to the throne. The driving force behind the burgeoning racing industry in Bahrain, he is chairman of the Rashid Horseracing and Equestrian Club. His best performer on the track to date is the unbeaten filly Commissioning, owned and bred jointly with his uncle Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who won the Group 1 bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket in 2022. He has a select band of 20 high-class broodmares which are kept at Highclere Stud.
In addition William Sporborg, who was announced as the new Chair of Jockey Club Estates at the end of 2022, has been appointed to The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards. At the same time, Peter Stanley and Justin Dowley are both stepping down from the Board of Stewards.
A former amateur jockey, Newmarket-based Sporborg has worked in private equity, venture capital and private companies over the last 30 years and is currently Managing Partner at Managing Capital LLP. He has also served on the racecourse committees at Huntingdon and Newmarket almost continuously since 2003.
The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards is its non-executive Board of Directors, with the use of the title Steward reflecting The Jockey Club’s unique heritage.
In 2023, The Jockey Club Board of Stewards consists of:
Sandy Dudgeon, Senior Steward
The Lord Grimthorpe, Deputy Senior Steward
Baroness Dido Harding, Steward
William Rucker, Steward
William Sporborg, Steward
Tim Syder, Steward
Lady Carolyn Warren, Steward
William Wyatt, Steward
Sandy Dudgeon, Senior Steward of The Jockey Club,said: “I am very pleased to welcome William Sporborg to the Board of Stewards and look forward to working with him. His experience will prove a huge asset to The Jockey Club, both in his role as a Steward and as Chair of Jockey Club Estates.
“I would like to thank Justin Dowley and Peter Stanley for their outstanding contribution to the Board and there is no doubt that The Jockey Club has benefited greatly from their considerable expertise.
“I am also pleased to welcome our new Members for 2023, elected on account of their enthusiasm for racing and their commitment to our sport.”
About The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club is the largest employer in British horseracing and one of the leading sports businesses operating in the UK today, with annual turnover in excess of £200 million. We run 15 of the UK’s racecourses – large and local – where we are charged with looking after some of the nation’s biggest events, including the Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree, The Cheltenham Festival, The Derby at Epsom Downs and the QIPCO Guineas Festival in Newmarket. We welcome thousands of racehorses a year to our training centres in Newmarket, Lambourn and Epsom. We run The National Stud in Newmarket and our charity, Racing Welfare, makes help available to all of racing’s people. We are governed by Royal Charter to act for the long-term benefit of British Racing, which is Britain’s second-biggest spectator sport. For more information please visit www.thejockeyclub.co.uk
