A new horseracing MBA is being run this September at the University of Liverpool.
Racing is the first sport after football to offer a MBA course.
Launched by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), the new course can be taken over year full-time or two years part-time.
There are seven scholarship places available on the inaugural 2015-16 course sponsored by the BHA, HBLB and the University of Liverpool.
The course is aimed at those already in British racing or anyone wishing to embark upon a career in the industry.
Employers within the sport are also being urged to enroll suitable employees to the course. The core elements of the programme include leadership, strategy, managing the environment, innovation, entrepreneurship and managing financial resources.
Students will also get an insight into the management of racecourses and training centres, marketing, advertising, sponsorship, bloodstock management and veterinary issues.
The course offers vocational training through industry placements and visits to racecourses, studs, training facilities, media companies and companies in the betting industry.
The programme will be led by Tom Cannon, professor of strategic development and the University of Liverpool Management School.
“We are delighted to launch and help fund the Thoroughbred Horseracing Industries MBA, a new world-class educational programme, created to cultivate leaders in the racing industry,” said the BHA’s Carole Goldsmith.
“The British Horseracing graduate programme and management academy have proven successful in nurturing promising leaders in the industry and this MBA will complement these courses, while offering an even higher level of qualification for successful candidates,” she added.
Alan Delmonte, chief executive of the HBLB, said: “The MBA has the potential to take to a new level the attractiveness of racing as a long-term executive and business career for both domestic and overseas applicants.”
Adam Waterworth, managing director of Goodwood Racecourse, said the new MBA “will undoubtedly help racing to continue to be one of the biggest employers in the sports industry.”
Jake Warren, of Highclere Stud, said the new course “will provide fantastic opportunities for its students and graduates of it seeking employment across the industry will have to be taken very seriously.”
For more information visit: www.liverpool.ac.uk/horseracingmba/
