Horserace Betting Levy Board

The board members and staff of the Horserace Betting Levy Board are devastated to learn of the sudden death of our chairman, Paul Darling.

Paul was a hugely respected and popular colleague and friend. He was devoted to the Levy Board, combining great ability with extraordinary enthusiasm, energy and a sense of fun.

He was initially a Levy Board member from 2008 to 2014. This, with his past membership of the Tote Board and chairing of the Association of British Bookmakers and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority, contributed to his recognition with an OBE in 2015 for services to safety at sports grounds and to horseracing. He began his chairmanship of the Levy Board in April 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak and guided the organisation through the challenges of that period.

His passing will leave a gap in the lives of everyone at the Levy Board. We will miss him deeply but will remember his love of racing and all that he did for the Levy Board and for the sport over many years. Our thoughts are with his family and in particular his wife Camilla.