Jockey Club

For the North American thoroughbred horse racing industry see: The Jockey Club.
For the club that was a fixture of high society in 19th century Paris see: Jockey-Club de Paris.
For the horse racing track, known simply as Jockey Club, located in Paraguay see: Jockey Club del Paraguay.
For the music venue: see: Jockey Club (Atlantic City, New Jersey)
The Jockey Club
Private incorporated by Royal Charter
Industry Horse racing, Leisure
Founded 1750
Headquarters 75 High Holborn, London
Area served
 United Kingdom
Revenue £150.3m (2012)
Number of employees
 circa 500 FTE
Divisions Jockey Club Racecourses, Jockey Club Estates, The National Stud, Racing Welfare
Website www.thejockeyclub.co.uk
A view of the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket, UK.
The Rowley Mile Racecourse, Newmarket, UK
The Rowley Mile entrance, Newmarket, UK

The Jockey Club is the largest commercial organisation in British horseracing, however as it is governed by Royal Charter, all profits it makes are reinvested back into the sport. No longer responsible for the governance and regulation of British horseracing, today it owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amongst other concerns such as the National Stud, and the property and land management company, Jockey Club Estates. The registered charity Racing Welfare is also a company limited by guarantee with the Jockey Club being the sole member.

Formerly the regulator for the sport, the Jockey Club's responsibilities were transferred to the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (now the British Horseracing Authority) in 2006.

History

The Jockey Club has long been thought to have been founded in 1750 - a year recognised by the club themselves from their own historic records. Some claim it was created earlier, in the 1720s,[1] while others suggest it may have existed in the first decade of the century.[2]

It was founded as one of the most exclusive high society social clubs in the United Kingdom, sharing some of the functions of a gentleman's club such as high-level socialising. It was called 'The Jockey Club' in reference to the late medieval word for 'horsemen', prounced 'yachey' and spelt 'Eachaidhe' in Gaelic.[3] The club's first meetings were held at the Star & Garter Pub at Pall Mall, London before later moving to Newmarket;[4] a town known in the United Kingdom as "The Home of Racing". It was historically the dominant organisation in British horseracing, and it remained responsible for its day-to-day regulation until April 2006.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, The Jockey Club had a clubhouse in Pall Mall, where many other gentlemen's clubs were based. The fact that it acquired a governing role in the sport reflected the dominant role of the aristocracy in British horse racing up to the 20th century, and the removal of this role was in part a conscious effect to move the sport away from its patrician image. This can be compared with the way that cricket's Marylebone Cricket Club became the governing body of cricket by default, but later surrendered most of its powers to more representative bodies.

The new system

Before 2006, it was one of the three bodies which provided management for horse racing in the United Kingdom in conjunction with the British Horseracing Board (itself an offshoot of The Jockey Club) and the Horserace Betting Levy Board.

These regulatory responsibilities were transferred to a new Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA) from 3 April 2006.[5] It should be pointed out that this major re-organisation did not arise from a fundamental failure of the existing arrangements, but an understanding that the old system might not meet modern conditions. The HRA itself ceased to exist on 31 July 2007 as its regulatory duties were merged with the governing responsibility of the British Horseracing Board to create the new British Horseracing Authority.

Property

Racecourse ownership

Jockey Club Racecourses was formerly called Racecourse Holdings Trust. The fifteen racecourses owned by Jockey Club Racecourses are:

Large courses:

Smaller courses:

References

  1. ↑ Richard Nash, "Sporting with Kings," in Rebecca Cassidy (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Horseracing (Cambridge University Press, 2013; ISBN 1107013852), p. 21.
  2. ↑ Donald W. Nichol, "Lost Trousers," The Times Literary Supplement, 26 July 2013, pp. 14-15, citing the frontispiece of a 1709 pamphlet called The History of the London Clubs.
  3. ↑ Dineen's Irish-English Dictionary, 1975, page 383
  4. ↑ History of the Jockey Club
  5. ↑ Wood, Greg (April 3, 2006). "End of an era as Jockey Club falls on own sword". The Guardian. Retrieved 2006-04-17.
  6. ↑ http://www.tjcannualreview.co.uk/assets/Files/TJC_AR_Online_2013.pdf
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