Committee

Sam Waley-Cohen - Next Generation Club President

Sam Waley-Cohen is a successful Amateur Jockey and Businessman. He enjoyed his most successfuly racing season to-date in 2011 capped by a win aboard his father's Long Run in the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup, where he made history as the first Amateur Jockey to take the race in 30 years. Sam is the founder of the Portman Healthcare chain of Dental Practices, which he started in 2009.

ZENIA WRIGHT - Committee Chairman

Zenia worked for Racing UK and previously as a Marketing Assistant at The British Horseracing Board (1996-'98), the Team Secretary at the Racecourse and Point-to-Point Department of the Jockey Club (1998-'00), she was PA to the Chief Executive of The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (2000-'01), as well as the Marketing Assistant at New Zealand Bloodstock (2001-'02), Executive Assistant at The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (2002-'04), and from there in 2004- to present day at Racing UK.

TIM KENT - Vice Chairman
Tim is a Director of Doncaster Bloodstock Sales Ltd (DBS) whom he joined in 2006, initially on work placement, then in the Bloodstock Department before also taking on the role of Marketing Manager in January 2007. He was appointed to the Board of Directors in April 2009.

Tim graduated from Nottingham University in 2005, after which he completed the BHA Graduate Scheme where he worked at the Horserace Betting Levy Board before spending six weeks at York Racecourse.

To further his experience of international bloodstock markets and sales, Tim spent an invaluable six months with Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Kentucky in 2006 where he gained a greater knowledge of the American racing industry. He has also worked at a number of Goffs Sales in Ireland.

As well as being responsible for the marketing of DBS, Tim is part of the inspection team for a number of DBS Sales and a regular on the DBS rostrum since his auctioneering debut in May 2007. Tim also represents DBS on the board of the British Bloodstock Marketing and the TBA National Hunt Committee.

JANE HEDLEY

Jane hails from North of the Border, near Jedburgh. An area with strong equestrian links, Jane was brought up in a farming community immersed in hunting and point-to-pointing.

An Agriculture degree at Edinburgh University was followed by time spent in some of the top yards in the UK, France and Ireland, including those of Alan King, Henrietta Knight, Kevin Prendergast and Guillaume Macaire. Three years were then spent in Newmarket, the majority of that time in the Marketing and Nominations department of Shadwell Stud. Jane is currently a yard manager for Mark Johnston in Middleham.

DANIEL POLAK
Industry based work experience began when riding out from Robert Alner's Dorset based yard. Daniel began work for Scarvagh House in 2005, whilst at Newcastle University. During the National Hunt seasons of 2006/7/8 he also managed a racing club on behalf of Marie Curie Cancer Care that had 15 horses in training throughout the UK and Ireland.

Most recently Daniel was the Stud Manager for Scarvagh House Stud in County Down, Northern Ireland, and was responsible for managing the nomination of the stallions, buying and selling youngstock and formulating mating plans for the broodmares.

GINA BRYCE
After graduating from Cambridge in 2006 with a degree in French and Spanish, Gina embarked on the Darley Flying Start training course where she learnt about all aspects of the bloodstock and racing industry completing valuable placements on stud farms and in training stables in England, Ireland, America, Australia and the UAE.

She graduated from the course in the summer of 2008 and soon after started working as a contracted presenter for At The Races. Gina has also written on a freelance basis for the Racing Post, The Irish Field and Pacemaker magazine.

Gina's family has a small breeding operation in Hertfordshire and she takes an active role in contributing to mating plans and stock analysis.

MATT COLEMAN
Matt has had a lifetime love of racing and began his career with a four-year stint as commercial executive at the British Horseracing Board, assisting the management team and being closely involved with the commercial changes to the industry from 2000 to 2004. He then spent two years as part of the second Darley Flying Start Programme, travelling around the world working and learning about every part of the industry under the Darley banner.

Following this programme, Matt secured a job with Anthony Stroud and has been working as a bloodstock agent, based in Newmarket, for the past four years.

HETTY STEARN
Hetty graduated from Imperial College, Wye, in 2005 with a BSc (Hons) in Equine Business Management. Since then Hetty has completed the BHA Graduate Scheme, with placements in both the racing and bank divisions of Weatherbys, followed by a six month spell in the Racing Administration department.

In 2006 Hetty took up a role in the Bloodstock department at Tattersalls, and was promoted to Sale Organiser in 2010, with responsibility for the July Sale amongst others.

Hetty's parents train point-to-pointers in Norfolk, something she is heavily involved in along with the re-training of racehorses for a life after racing.

EDWARD HARPER
Ed qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in October 2008 whilst working in the rural land agency, Savills PLC. Since then he spent a year at The Oaks Stud in New Zealand, having shuttled a stallion to the stud for their Southern Hemisphere covering season.

Ed is now a Director of his family's Whitsbury Manor Stud in Hampshire, and is involved with all the management aspects of a commercial stallion stud.

SAM HOSKINS
Sam Hoskins runs the new Hot To Trot Racing Club and also assists bloodstock agent Geoffrey Howson during the sales. Previously, he worked two and half years for leading owner and breeder the Niarchos Family.

Sam completed the Irish National Stud Thoroughbred Breeding Course and as part of the Joss Collins Scholarship, worked on leading stud farms in New Zealand and America. Other industry experience includes working for John Warren, Mckeever St Lawrence, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing and Tattersalls.

ALISON REA

After graduating from the University of St. Andrews in 2004, where she was a founder member of the University Polo Club, Ali travelled to Australia where she was employed by William Inglis Thoroughbred Auctioneers as Marketing Assistant. From the Inglis headquarters at Newmarket, Sydney, she moved to Melbourne to work for the Victoria Racing Club as part of the Membership department for the 2006 Melbourne Cup Carnival. Since her return to the UK, and after a brief stint in London working for the Jockey Club, she has worked in Darley’s marketing department and is now Head of European Marketing.