Owner/breeder Simon Cox is set to be announced as the next chair of the British Horseracing Authority, the Racing Post understands.
Cox, 58, was chosen for the role ahead of former British Horseracing Board chair Peter Savill and Minette Batters, the former National Farmers Union president who now chairs British Racing's Horse Welfare Board and is a director of Salisbury.
The BHA position was made vacant when Lord Allen resigned in March after just six months in the job, his departure coming after the governing body's members failed to reach an agreement on reforms to create an independent board and a more commercial remit.
Cox spent 32 years in the brewing industry, joining Molson Coors in 2005 before rising through the company to become president and chief executive of the part of its business covering everything outside the Americas. He had previously worked for Carlsberg.
He has been a racehorse owner for approaching 15 years, and has his horses in training in Britain with trainer Ian Williams.
More recently, he expanded his interests into Thoroughbred breeding and has mares stationed at Shade Oak Stud, also home to the stallion Logician, in which he is a shareholder. In Between Days, the first member of Logician's first crop to race, was bred by Cox and carried his colors to victory twice in two starts at Auteuil in the spring, most recently in a listed hurdle.
Cox also has been an active member in a number of British racing's many stakeholder groups. In 2021, he joined the Professional Jockeys Association as a non-executive director during a restructuring of the body's board.
However, two years later he resigned, along with former chair Jon Holmes and Mick Fitzgerald, after PJA members presented a petition to the board that laid out plans for an emergency general meeting with the prime purpose of forcing former chief executive Ian McMahon from his job.
In 2021, Cox also joined the board of trustees at the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, for whom he also chairs the body's National Hunt Committee.
Cox also chairs the BHA's Jumps Pattern Committee and is a member of the High Quality Horse Group.
When appointed to the TBA board of trustees in 2021, Cox said: "I'm first and foremost a passionate racing fan and over the last decade have deepened my involvement in racing through owning and breeding National Hunt racehorses.
"I'm delighted to join the board of trustees of the TBA and am really looking forward to supporting the ongoing growth and health of the breeding industry. I want to continue to learn about the wider industry, but I hope my knowledge of jump racing and my business experience will be of use to the team from the start."
When contacted by the Racing Post, a BHA spokesperson said: "The process for the recruitment of the BHA chair remains under way. This process will include engaging with BHA senior leaders, stakeholders, and other industry personnel. An official announcement will then follow in due course."
