Racing’s crisis intensifies as Lord Allen quits BHA role after just six months
The British Horseracing Authority confirmed on Tuesday morning that Charles Allen has resigned as chair of the sport’s ruling body after just six months in the role,The news followed weeks of speculation that Lord Allen’s position had become untenable, due to his failure to get a final sign-off on plans to create a fully independent BHA board,Allen said in a statement on Tuesday that “horseracing is an amazing sport with great potential and over the last year [since his appointment was announced in late 2024] I have met some incredibly passionate people who love the sport who believe to survive and prosper change is needed,I also want to pay tribute to the hardworking and dedicated BHA team,I wish the sport well for the future.
”Allen had no significant prior connection with horse racing when he was appointed, and his initial start date of 2 June 2025 was delayed for three months while he sought assurances that his plans for a fully independent board – ie.without nominated representatives from the industry’s special interest groups – would be implemented.He also arrived with an impressive CV including senior roles in broadcasting, construction and retail business, and having also chaired the 2002 Commonwealth Games and worked to deliver the 2012 London Olympics.His attempt to realise his vision of British racing as “a modern commercial and cultural powerhouse” soon foundered, however, as a result of differences not simply between the sport’s participants – owners, trainers, jockeys and stable staff – and its racecourses, but also due to divisions between the major tracks, including those owned by Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR), and smaller courses either owned by or allied to Arena Racing Company (ARC).The tipping point for Allen proved to be a concern among some tracks that he would use the supply of BHA-owned raceday data – on non-runners, off-times and other details with significance for betting operators and punters – to leverage extra funding for prize money from smaller courses’ media-rights revenue.
These divisions were laid bare following confirmation of Lord Allen’s departure, as JCR and four of the biggest independent racecourses – Ascot, Goodwood, Newbury and York – issued a joint statement calling for “urgent review” of the governance structure of the Racecourse Association (RCA), the umbrella body which represents all 59 of Britain’s courses and currently nominates two members of the BHA board,The RCA currently operates on a one-track, one-vote basis which many larger racecourses believe gives undue weight to smaller tracks, whose business models depend on supplying live streams of their action to off-course betting operators,The joint statement called for a proposal for reform by the end of April 2026, which would ensure that “board and voting representation is balanced and credible”, that “significant views from key racecourses can influence outcomes” and that “the organisation can act decisively on matters affecting the wider industry”,The statement added that following the “stalemate” in Lord Allen’s attempt to create an independent BHA board, the courses concerned “remain committed to working collaboratively across the sport”, and “believe the present BHA governance arrangements prevent timely and effective decision-making”,The signatories, it concluded, “are making it clear that they require a constructive governance review to ensure that they are able to effectively participate in decisions that influence the future of the sport.
”The statement is clearly intended to distance the major tracks from any responsibility for Allen’s departure, and leaves open the possibility that Jockey Club Racecourses and its allies could ultimately quit the RCA and operate independently if they feel their demands have not been met.
US military reportedly used Claude in Iran strikes despite Trump’s ban
The US military reportedly used Claude, Anthropic’s AI model, to inform its attack on Iran despite Donald Trump’s decision, announced hours earlier, to sever all ties with the company and its artificial intelligence tools.The use of Claude during the massive joint US-Israel bombardment of Iran that began on Saturday was reported by the Wall Street Journal and Axios. It underlines the complexity of the US military withdrawing powerful AI tools from its missions when the technology is already intricately embedded in operations.According to the Journal, US military command used the tools for intelligence purposes, as well as to help select targets and carry out battlefield simulations.On Friday, just hours before the Iran attack began, Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using Claude immediately
Datacentre developers face calls to disclose effect on UK’s net emissions
Datacentre developers are facing pressure to reveal whether their projects will increase the UK’s net greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns the sites could double national electricity demand.Campaign groups have written to the UK technology secretary, Liz Kendall, warning that the energy required by new AI infrastructure poses a “serious threat to efforts to decarbonise the electricity grid”.Developers should demonstrate that their projects will not cause an increase in the UK’s overall CO2 emissions or local water scarcity, as part of a forthcoming national policy statement (NPS) on datacentres, the letter says.“Without these commitments, such vast electricity use will inevitably generate vast climate emissions,” the campaigners write.The letter is signed by Foxglove, a group that campaigns against big tech dominance, and five other non-governmental organisations including the environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth
OpenAI to work with Pentagon after Anthropic dropped by Trump over company’s ethics concerns
OpenAI said it had struck a deal with the Pentagon to supply AI to classified US military networks, hours after Donald Trump ordered the government to stop using the services of one of the company’s main competitors.Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, announced the move on Friday night. It came after an agreement between Anthropic, a rival AI company that runs the Claude system, and the Trump administration broke down after Anthropic sought assurances its technology would not be used for mass surveillance – nor for autonomous weapons systems that can kill people without human input.Announcing the deal, Altman insisted that OpenAI’s agreement with the government included assurances that it would not be used to those ends.“Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” Altman wrote on X
Her husband wanted to use ChatGPT to create sustainable housing. Then it took over his life.
On 7 August, Kate Fox received a phone call that upended her life. A medical examiner said that her husband, Joe Ceccanti – who had been missing for several hours – had jumped from a railway overpass and died. He was 48.Fox couldn’t believe it. Ceccanti had no history of depression, she said, nor was he suicidal – he was the “most hopeful person” she had ever known
Suicide forum found to be in breach of Online Safety Act after failing to block UK users
A suicide forum linked to deaths in Britain has been ruled provisionally in breach of the Online Safety Act after it failed to properly block access to UK users when ordered to do so last year.Ofcom, the online regulator, said it could now apply to the courts to demand internet service providers block access to the site in the UK. This will depend on how the site, which also faces fines, responds over the next 10 days.Coroners had been raising concerns about the links between the forum and suicides in the UK since at least 2019, campaigners said. The family of 17-year-old Vlad Nikolin-Caisley, from Southampton, said he took his own life in 2024 after using the site, which Ofcom is not naming
OpenAI announces $110bn funding round that would value firm at $840bn
OpenAI said on Friday it is raising $110bn in a blockbuster funding round that would value the ChatGPT maker at $840bn, in a deal that signals the feverish pace of investment in artificial intelligence.It’s more than double the amount the company raised last year, when it racked up $40bn in the largest private tech deal on record.This year’s funding round, which is still open, includes a $30bn investment from SoftBank, $30bn from Nvidia, and $50bn from Amazon, and comes ahead of the AI startup’s expected mega-IPO later this year. Even more investors are expected to join.“We’re super excited about this deal,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told CNBC on Friday
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