Funeral date for Epsom stalwart John Benstead

The funeral of John Benstead will be held at Randall's Park Crematorium in Leatherhead at 2pm on December 23.

Benstead died peacefully aged 91 last Tuesday. He was a trainer for more than 40 years in Epsom and had horses for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. He also famously enjoyed three successive Royal Ascot wins with Blue Refrain, each year in a different race.

The family have said all are welcome. No flowers but any donations may be made to the Injured Jockeys Fund.

James Cronin funeral

The funeral of James Cronin, who looked after 2005 Derby winner Motivator, will take place at Our Lady Immaculate and St Etheldreda Catholic Church in Newmarket on December 17 at 10.30 am. Cronin, 47, died suddenly in an accident on December 3 while in Newmarket working at the December Sales.

Family flowers only. All donations to Racing Welfare.

A fund raising page for James Cronin has already trebled its target figure and on Wednesday had raised E66,348.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/james-cronin

Owner Syder joins Jockey Club board

Racehorse owner Tim Syder is to join the board of the Jockey Club in January for a three-year term.

Syder, who founded private equity firm Electra Partners and has had a 30-year career in the sector, succeeds James Westoll as a steward of the organisation.

The Jockey Club has also confirmed the reappointments of Justin Dowley and The Hon Peter Stanley as stewards for further terms of three years.

Senior steward Sandy Dudgeon said: "I would like to welcome Tim to the main board of the Jockey Club. He brings terrific experience both as a racehorse owner and with 30 years’ experience in business.

"He already understands our operations through his other roles within our group and I’m sure he will be a real asset as a steward over the next three years."

Syder added: "I believe this is quite a defining period for British racing, with some headwinds we need to face down on the one hand and some real opportunities for growth on the other."

Juliet Slot joins British Olympic Association board

Ascot's chief commercial officer Juliet Slot has joined the board of the British Olympic Association as an independent non-executive director.

BOA chairman Sir Hugh Robertson said of Slot, who worked on the London 2012 bid: "Juliet came through an impressive list of candidates and will add a wealth of commercial marketing experience to the board."

Slot's colleague at Ascot, director of racing and public affairs Nick Smith, has been appointed to the course's main holding board, Ascot Authority Holdings.