'We Have a Responsibility to the Next Generation': Anna Kerr on Launching the Young Professionals Bloodstock Network

The National Stud, like its Irish counterpart, treads a dual pathway in being both a commercial stallion operation and boarding farm as well as a seat of learning. Managing those twin aspects of the business within the wider umbrella of its parent company the Jockey Club means that the plate of chief executive Anna Kerr is already stacked pretty high, but she has recently added to her own inbox through the setting up of the Young Professionals Bloodstock Network.

It is perhaps no surprise that Kerr remains intent on providing something of a nurturing role in the industry as her original brief when joining the National Stud in 2020 as its chief operating officer was to oversee its education programme. She took over as CEO in 2023 and it was a conversation with Richard Norris, the Jockey Club's director of racing, which prompted Kerr to organise a Youth Bloodstock Forum in Newmarket earlier this year. 

“We wanted it to be very much focused around breeding and ownership,” she says. “Eighty per cent of the attendees at the forum were graduates of the National Stud Diploma course, and we invited other young professionals working in the industry, under the age of 40. We had the most fantastic kick-off session on the eve of the February Sale. I was blown away by the engagement and the thirst for it.”

Kerr adds, “I think that says an awful lot about what is positive about our industry and what bodes very well for the future. Off the back of that, we discussed five different areas, which were about getting started, supporting the process, increasing industry participation, what happens when you don't sell [a foal or yearling], and stallion diversity. From that, we then had a clearer output of themes.”

From the initial forum, Kerr has now set up several working groups and has enlisted the support of the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association CEO Naomi Mellor. She says that the team at Tattersalls has offered support and that she is also approaching Goffs. 

“It's really looking to those industry leaders about what we, as institutions, can do collectively to create a framework that supports the community of young professionals in our industry,” Kerr says.

Two group sessions have taken place this week in Newmarket, with this correspondent allowed to take part despite being neither young nor very professional.

“There's a lot of people above 40 who have an awful lot of input to offer, so it's mixing the two generations together through these working groups, which have been really fascinating. Allowing the space for the conversations is very powerful in itself, and there's a clear concept emerging from those conversations. A smaller working group will work on honing that concept and creating a delivery model to apply for funding.”

Some of the conversation has naturally focused around what can be done to encourage more people to become involved in the breeding sector by facilitating a pathway through syndicates and racing clubs. Greater accessibility to shared ownership is a hot topic, allowing as it does not just a more affordable option for people to become directly involved with racehorses but also the advantage of a like-minded social network. 

Kerr says, “The core objective for me is in creating the community, the connectivity, and through that, it creates a platform from which young people can be recognised and seen and heard. Through getting to know each other, and that networking and that connection, more opportunities will come.”

The Young Professionals Bloodstock Network will be managed by the National Stud while working closely with the TBA and other industry partners. 

“We're here to support, introduce and connect,” she adds. “But the importance of community is at the core of it, while helping younger members of that community to understand the intricacies of our industry.

“And as part of the network, what the National Stud can do is accessible breeding clubs, young stock clubs, leasing resources, and doing it in an affordable way where it's paying by direct debit instead of needing five or eight grand up front.”

One of the attendees of both the initial forum and this week's working group is Lilly Sahla, European marketing manager for Ace Stud, who graduated from the National Stud Diploma course five years ago. Originally employed in the music industry, Sahla says that her introduction to bloodstock came quite by chance when she ended up working at Segenhoe Stud to fulfil the requirements of her visa while travelling in Australia. 

Lilly Sahla, second left, with her Ace Stud colleagues | Racingfotos

“Creating a network for young professionals, breeders and others in the racing industry is incredibly important, and I think this is a brilliant initiative that Anna Kerr and Naomi Mellor are driving forward,” she says.

“I found my way into this industry completely by chance and would definitely have benefited from more guidance and support in those early days if I'd known it was available.

“The National Stud Diploma course was a great introduction to the industry for me, but at the time I still felt like I was coming into it all quite blind. It's easy for us to assume that everyone knows everything in this industry, but we need to give younger people the space and confidence to learn without feeling embarrassed or excluded.”

Sahla continues, “Over the years I've been lucky to build a great support network around me, including people who became brilliant mentors, like Anna herself, as well as Ross Doyle and Richard Phillips, but making that initial contact can feel daunting. Again, the National Stud course was vital in the early stages of my career because it gave me a strong foundation of friends and colleagues within the industry, but not everyone is fortunate enough to have that opportunity.

“I feel strongly about opening the doors to racing to people from different backgrounds and changing the perception that success only comes if you grew up in the industry. We need to showcase the broad range of jobs and opportunities our world can offer.”

It is a mission shared by Kerr, who also worries that the politics of an industry which has its share of potential crises bubbling away in the background can be somewhat draining. 

“It's very easy for us all to talk about how awful everything is, and if we look over the lid of the box, things are pretty awful, but actually, there's also an awful lot that's good,” she says. 

“There's a lot of positive things happening but we need to support those who are going to be here in 20 years' time. we need to make them feel that not all they're hearing is doom. This is the world they love and they've chosen to be a part of and we have a responsibility to the next generation coming through to leave the industry in the best state that we can.”

She points to the unique communities that can be found on racecourses all around the world as an example of how the sport can bring people together. 

“I worked in Leopardstown for four years, and I'd be going racing and there's the same core group of people who are at pretty much every race meeting. Yes, they're there on their own, but they weren't actually on their own, because it's a race meeting. It's a coming together of people, and it's our secret sauce in a way. It's a really special thing is that you get to be part of a community of people where the horse brings us together.”

Kerr adds, “I say it to our students here that we're so privileged that we get to be at that foaling, that we get to walk down to the stallion shed, and talk to champion sprinters, champion stayers. If you're having a bad day, go and talk to your favourite horse. There is so much that is good, and it's down to us to preserve it as best we can. There are always going to be things that are out of our control, but there are things that are within our control, there are levers that we can pull, and we have to activate them.”