Raceday Stewards - What can racing learn from other sports who employ professional officials?

By Lissa Oliver

There is an argument in British and Irish racing that all stewards should be professional. The idea of stewards presiding over the sport on a voluntary basis is considered, by some, to be outdated. Yet others would argue that voluntary stewards are incorruptible, giving their time not for financial personal gain but for a genuine love of the sport and desire to support racing.

How would we feel if our politicians and government ministers were unpaid? Would we be more trustworthy if their position was a vocation rather than just an employment choice? Or anxious that lack of salary left them open to bribery? There is no definitive answer, and much depends on the individual holding that position of power.

So how do other sports police their participants? Some have ‘in-play’ referees who are participating alongside the sporting contestants, but there are many sports, like our own, policed from observers on the side-lines. In all cases, with one notable exception, the world’s major sports are overseen by professional panels; although it was only in more recent years that football referees joined those professional ranks. 

The exception is motorsport. Formula 1 racing is policed from a race day control room by marshals who are volunteers and unpaid. Fitness and passion are the only prerequisites, and just a minimum of a year’s experience at motor club level is expected of Formula 1 marshals. 

If we look at other equestrian sports, judges have a training programme in place designed to help them progress their career and all officials must attend an officials’ training event every two years. The average annual salary is said to be around €51,000 / £43,400.

In football, British referees became professional in 2001, and basic annual retainers vary from €35,000 / £30,000 for Premier League assistant and video assistant referees, to €82,000-€235,000 / £70,000-£200,000 for the official referee, plus match fees of €998-€1,800 / £850-£1,500. The restructuring from amateur to professional aimed to improve the overall standard of refereeing and enable officials to go full time. Former FIFA referee Roger Milford observed at the time, “I am sure this will mean more consistency from the officials on points of law which cause controversy. The fact that the referees will meet regularly for training sessions means they will sit down together and watch videos of incidents which have caused controversy.”

Elite cricket umpires receive around €2,400 / £2,000 per match, plus significant payments by tournament sponsors. There is a strict qualification route requiring at least 10 years of experience, with a series of examinations along the way. Meanwhile, following training and a written examination on the rules of tennis, top tennis umpires can command €35,000-€70,000 / £30,000-£60,000 a year and are required to attend and pass yearly certification school.

Although most rugby unions don’t reveal how much they pay their professional referees, a World Cup bonus can boost top referees to €94,000 / £80,000 a year, with match fees around €500 / £425. As with other sports, there is a structured training programme in place, coupled with length of experience. 

American football boasts seven NFL officials on the field per game, rather than observing from off the field, with specific roles and responsibilities. The NFL’s officiating development programme continuously develops a robust talent pool, as well as grassroots clinics and programmes designed to introduce young people to football officiating. Although NFL referees and officials are part-time employees, without work in the closed season, they can earn an average of €181,000 / £154,000) for the season. This is comparable to baseball umpires—with four officiating per game—and similar training and pay brackets exist; although according to Bleacher Report, baseball umpires make more per year than officiating staff from the NFL. Likewise, golf referees in North America command similar salaries.

It is interesting to note that in unifying the rules of golf worldwide—generally viewed as a self-policing sport, it is seen to start at referee level. In Britain, the Official Referee Qualification was launched in February 2021 to establish a clear pathway for aspiring golf officials. Grant Moir, director of rules at golf’s administrative body The R&A, said of the introduction, “We believe that individuals aspiring to become referees and tournament administrators will benefit greatly from this enhanced rules education programme that culminates in an official qualification which will be recognised internationally. We will work closely with our affiliated national federations around the world to introduce the new Referee Qualification and together encourage future officials to take advantage of the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of the rules and develop the skills required to apply them in a competition environment.” 

2021 saw an initial pilot of the programme being run in Australia, Chile, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa and Sweden, in order to gain feedback and make refinements to the programme ahead of a full roll-out in 2022.

These, then, are just some examples that racing authorities might look to if seeking to update race day officiating. It is quite clear throughout that in other sports, officials are salaried and, more importantly, a clear pathway of education is in place, including continuous professional development and training. The switch from amateur to professional football referees to create a greater level of consistency would certainly have pricked a few ears within racing, while the international focus of the new Golf Referee Qualification is definitely something our industry should be paying attention to.

Of course, the race day stewarding system in place differs from one horseracing jurisdiction to the next, and some have already embraced the trend set by other sports. This only serves to highlight the gulf still to be bridged in globally unifying the rules of horseracing.

If we revert back to football, as well as the move from amateur to professional officials, more recently we have seen the introduction of VAR (Video Assistant Referee). Despite early teething problems, VAR has been held up by some trainers as the way forward for race day stewards. The idea of a central office occupied by a panel of full-time professional stewards who can view racing remotely is far less outlandish now that we have all adapted to Zoom and other online platforms. Enabling the same stewards to view each day’s racing, covering more than one meeting, would surely allow for greater consistency in their interpretation of the rules.

Interestingly, this concept has already been trialled in Australia by Racing Victoria. As a result of the operational review led by Robert Cram, Racing Victoria chairman of stewards, the control room has been established as a centrally located race day hub that remotely supports the stewards officiating at a race meeting. It will be interesting to see how successful this may become and whether it will be adopted by other Australian bodies, or indeed by other nations.

Marc Van Gestel, general manager of Integrity and Chairman of Stewards at Racing NSW, tells us, “The NSW model for stewarding is based on the entirety of stewards being professional and full-time. We do not employ honorary staff.  

“Given the geographics of NSW and oversight of approximately 100 racecourses, Racing NSW has the state divided into 10 regions whereby there are full-time stewards based in those regions who report directly to me from our central Sydney office. All stewards operate from Racing NSW offices in those regions. Conferences are held annually and policies, rules updates and important changes to prohibited substance protocols are disseminated to all stewards when changes are made. Stewards also officiate in regions that border their own base, to provide further transparency with our processes. 

“The majority of stewards working for Racing NSW, including myself, have been developed through our traineeship system whereby trainees complete a certificate IV in racing administration (stewarding). This course provides all stewards with a fundamental base to commence their career in the industry. There is also a significant amount of on-the-job training that is provided to all stewards along with formal training sessions.

“The model we have in place provides consistency with decisions made throughout this jurisdiction and in my opinion is best practice.”

Former Racing NSW Deputy Chairman of Stewards Greg Rudolph sets out quite clearly the recruitment process and career path of potential stewards. “The formative years of cadetship are quite tough as they are paid an apprenticeship wage, starting out at $50,000 (€31,600/£27,000) per year. While that can be challenging, it is easier once you move up in rank. Once you move into the senior ranks, it becomes a package with a car and phone package as well as a six-figure salary. The higher positions are well paid, but you have to work your way up the ladder.”

The Hong Kong Jockey Club also provides an apprenticeship pathway into stewarding, with cadet stipendiary stewards. The HKJC Racing Control Department has a team of stipendiary stewards to administer the Rules of Racing and monitor the conduct of industry participants. Cadets are required to have a degree in a subject applicable to the responsibilities of a stipendiarysteward and must complete the Stewards Training Programme. They are also expected to have an active involvement with horses, including the ability to ride, although it is not essential. Salaries are not publicly available but are said to range from €26,000 to €148,000 (£22,000-£126,000) according to the level of appointment, qualifications and experience.

In the USA, stewards are professional and on average can earn between €33,000 / £28,000) and €56,000 /£48,000. The Racing Officials Accreditation Programme (ROAP) is a collaborative effort of industry organisations, supporting the common goal of ensuring the integrity of the horseracing industry. The ROAP works in close collaboration with the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Programme and the University of Louisville Equine Industry Programme to oversee the accreditation of racing officials.

The minimum experience qualifications for Flat Racing Accreditation at the basic level is at least 225 race days of experience as a licenced racing official (in any recognised capacity). A rigid structure dictates that licenced trainers (and similarly licenced jockeys) may receive credit for days of experience for the years where they had 100 or more starts as a licenced trainer. For example, five to nine years equates to a credit of 75 days, leaving them to complete only 150 additional days.

Graduates with a bachelor's degree from an affiliated university receive credit for 100 days of experience, and participants in the ROAP Apprenticeship Programme receive credit for up to 60 days of the apprentice programme. To maintain accreditation, all accredited US racing officials, stewards and judges must attend a continuing education session approved by the ROAP, totalling at least 16 credit hours every two years. 

The concept of professional stewards is not alien to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) or to the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). Both jurisdictions employ a combination of unpaid volunteers and paid stipendiary stewards who collectively oversee the integrity of racing and enforce the Rules of Racing. But the role of stipendiary stewards is largely intelligence gathering and monitoring, while it’s the volunteers who form the disciplinary panel and interpret the Rules of Racing on race day.

As volunteers, there is no specified criteria for training or experience, but British and Irish stewards are supported with relevant training and must know the Rules of Racing. IHRB senior stewards serve for a period of two years, following a two-year period as deputy senior steward. Current Senior Steward Harry McCalmont said of his role, “Having spent my life in the business, it’s good to be putting something back and trying to help whenever possible. Stewards have a thankless task, but there is an enormous amount of work done voluntarily which people don’t see, and there is no recompense whatsoever. People do that because they love the sport.”

France also relies upon voluntary stewards, but in a 2019 poll by Jour de Galop, 61% of respondents voted in favour of professional stewards. France Galop Steward Robert Fournier-Sarvolèze told Jour de Galop of his concerns at the average age of the 850 stewards volunteering throughout France. “We note that the age band is getting higher and higher. We have some concern about this. In two years, many men and women will have to stop. The age limit is set at 75 for race stewards.”

He agreed that finding volunteers was not easy but didn’t necessarily believe offering professional positions would help, pointing out that the remuneration would be a major factor. Though not personally in favour, he felt a fixed salary for stewards employed on a year-round basis, rather than a one-off race day payment, might provide a solution. He did not, however, believe a mix of voluntary and professional stewards was workable.

Like McCalmont, Fournier-Sarvolèze acknowledged, “It is a pity that a lot of people do not know all the work done by the stewards.” However, reflecting back on the Racing Victoria remote control room and arguments in favour of a horseracing VAR, Fournier-Sarvolèze made the point, “This may be one of the faults of volunteering—it is not possible to be present every day.”

Stephanie Daburon has been a France Galop steward for 15 years and, like McCalmont, says of her voluntary role, “I have been passionate about horse racing from a young age. Becoming a steward has allowed me to participate in the life of racing in a different way.”

There are arguments both for and against professional stewards, but an important element in stewarding is integrity and the need to preserve the independence of the stewards, while ensuring that their judgment is not affected by any conflict of interest. Remuneration does not enter into that. What it can provide, however, is the stability of a full-time position and consistency. Isn’t lack of consistency in interpreting the rules our greatest bugbear?

There is one final point to note, however. We have been given, where possible, average salaries across all sports and racing jurisdictions. For those racing bodies who do not yet employ professional stewards, can they afford the cost? And where will that additional expense come from?