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9 Jul 2025
The Racing Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Hazel Peplinski as a new Trustee to its Board, effective immediately.
Peplinski brings over 30 years of senior racecourse management experience in Scotland, having served as Chief Executive of both Hamilton Park and Perth Racecourses. Her career in the sport also includes significant operational roles as Clerk of the Course at Hamilton Park, Ayr, and Kelso. A lifelong racing enthusiast, Hazel’s experience is enriched by her hands-on involvement in point-to-point racing having owned, trained, and ridden a home-bred winner herself.
Peplinski’s nine-year tenure as a Trustee of The Injured Jockeys Fund has informed her understanding of the support structures that sustain the racing workforce. She has also served as a grant-making committee member at sportscotland and as a Director of the Racecourse Association, where she represented small independent racecourses.
Welcoming the appointment, Racing Foundation Chair Julia Budd said:
“We are delighted to welcome Hazel to the Board of Trustees. Hazel brings deep insight and experience across the racing landscape coupled with a keen interest and experience at operational level in delivering environmental sustainability, youth, and community engagement activities. With grant-giving and Trustee experience already firmly embedded in her CV, she will be an excellent asset to the Racing Foundation and provides the Board with important representation in the North.”
Peplinski commented:
“I am honoured to accept a seat on the Racing Foundation’s Board of Trustees and thereby continue my lifelong association with horseracing in such a positive way. The Foundation has no agenda other than to help horseracing to thrive and over its short history it has evolved into a highly efficient, purpose-driven organisation that can make a tangible difference.”
The appointment follows the retirement from the Board of Susannah Gill, Communications and Corporate Affairs Director at UK Tote Group, who served a six-year term as a Racing Foundation Trustee.
Budd added: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Susannah for generously giving her time and expertise to the Foundation, which has proved hugely valuable.”
Peplinski joins Julia Budd (Chair), Linda Bowles (Senior Independent Director), Jim Boyle, Louise Kemble, Alice Page, Rishi Persad and Algy Smith-Maxwell on the Racing Foundation’s Board of Trustees. The knowledgeable and diverse Board are committed to furthering the Racing Foundation’s mission to work in partnership with the racing industry to help achieve a sustainable future for the sport.
Notes to Editors
About the Racing Foundation:
In 2012 the Racing Foundation was established to oversee the distribution of funds to charitable causes within the racing and thoroughbred industry following the sale of the Tote. Since inception it has awarded over £39million in grants. Equine welfare, racing’s people and ESG are the key areas of focus in its 2025 – 2027 strategy. The Trustees of the Racing Foundation are Julia Budd (Chair), Linda Bowles (SID), Jim Boyle, Louise Kemble, Alice Page, Hazel Peplinski, Rishi Persad and Algy Smith-Maxwell. The British Horseracing Authority, the Thoroughbred Group and Racecourse Association are the three joint Members of the Racing Foundation, which is registered with the Charity Commission as a charity under the law of England and Wales (no. 1145297).
www.racingfoundation.co.uk