The sport has lost a friend: sad farewell to ‘passionate and dedicated’ supporter aged 53
Former British Horseracing Authority (BHA) chair Joe Samarez Smith has died aged 53, surrounded by his family.
Joe, described as a “passionate and dedicated” supporter of racing, who enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the sport, died at home today (11 February), 20 months after he was diagnosed with inoperable cancer.
The BHA confirmed his death “with great sadness”.
“Our thoughts and prayers – and we are sure those of everyone involved in our sport – are with Joe’s family and friends,” a BHA spokesperson said. “He will be hugely missed by us all.”
Joe became fascinated with racing when he was eight and his teacher used betting odds to teach fractions. He went to his first meeting aged 12.
In 1991 he was on the Jockey Club graduate programme, and went on to write for the Racing Post, the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph and Bloomberg.
Joe joined the BHA in December 2014 as a non-executive director. In March 2022, he was appointed chair and in December that year, his term was extended until June 2025. He stepped down on 30 January as his health had deteriorated.
BHA acting CEO Brant Dunshea said: “It has been a great privilege to have known and worked with Joe, always providing wise counsel and tremendous support to the BHA team and to me personally, and for that we will be for ever grateful.
“His commitment to advocating Britain’s interests on the global stage was unwavering, and for that British racing owes him a huge debt of gratitude. We will miss him terribly.”
Interim BHA chair David Jones said Joe was a great friend of racing, as well as a personal friend to many.
“Joe’s enthusiasm for the sport shone through in everything he did,” he said. “He had such a deep knowledge of all aspects of the industry and I and other board colleagues will really miss his insight.”
The BHA said Joe had been “one of the most influential and distinguished figures in British racing”, a global ambassador for the sport as well as his senior BHA roles.
“As BHA chair, Joe steered a complex industry through a challenging restructure of its entire operating system, creating a new governance model to deliver a more sustainable and dynamic economic future,” the spokesperson said.
“Alongside this, Joe had a transformative impact on two vitally important areas for the sport – its equine stars and the staff who nurture and care for them. Through Joe’s direction, British racing took an increasingly proactive approach to horse welfare, the latest manifestation of which was evidenced in the BHA’s HorsePWR campaign.
“Similarly, through the industry strategy work, Joe promoted the creation of a new Horseracing People Board (HIPB) to explore and improve all aspects of our workforce’s lives. And as part of this work, Joe was a great supporter and passionate champion of the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards.”
The spokesperson added that Joe’s commitment is “even more remarkable” given his diagnosis of stage four lung cancer.
“While undergoing debilitating treatment he continued to be ever present on British racecourses and undertook a gruelling period of international travel to promote the sport overseas, ensuring that British horseracing remains one of Britain’s greatest avenues for inward investment while also acting as one of the Government’s most-effective soft power levers,” he said.
“Joe was a great champion for people in the sport – across all roles – being nominated for honours in the birthday and New Year Honours Lists. It is a great sadness that he did not know that his colleagues at the BHA and his peers had nominated him for an honour this year.
“His wife Wanda and their children have asked us to pass on their deep thanks for all the messages of support they have received since Joe was first diagnosed with cancer in June 2023 and especially since he stepped down as BHA chair on 30 January when his health worsened. They have asked for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time.”
Details will be announced about memorial arrangements for Joe.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.