Andy O’Connor

The NHA was established in 1882 and the very first head of the organisation was Mr H.B. Christian, who served as the Chairman from 1882 to 1903. It is an interesting exercise to look at a list of past Chairmen and the NHA’s Colin Hall kindly helped us put together a comprehensive list, which reads as follows:

Mr H.B. Christian (1882-1903)
Charles Marx (1904-1915)
H.J. Bowen (1915-1916)
The Hon H.C. Hull (1916-1919)
Mr P Cochran (1919-1920)
Sir Julius Jeppe (1920-1929)
W Stayt (1929-1938)
Dr Peter von Maltitz (PM) Anderson (1939-1953)
Maj Gen. Sir Francis de Guingand (1953-1959)
A.L. Robertson (1959-1960)
A Warwick Bryant (1960-1966)
Allen Snijman (1966-1981)
Tony Ruffell (1981-1985)
Alan Bell (1985-1990)
Ronnie Napier (1990-1995)
Jack Ward (1995-1998)
Mathew McElligott (1998-2001)
Alick Costa (2001-2004)
Peter Jaeger (2004-2006)
Larry Nestadt (2006-2009)
Len Konar (2010)
Jonathan Wits Hewinson (2010-2013)
Adv Altus Joubert (2014)

And to this august list of politicians, military generals and captains of industry, we can now add Mr Andrew (Andy) O’Connor.

Proposed by Mr M.K. Naidoo and seconded by Mr Trevor Raath, Mr Andy O’Connor stood for the NHA’s Central Provinces seat, standing against last year’s Chairman, Adv Altus Joubert. He won the election and was voted onto the board in November 2014, officially assuming office in January 2015. It’s been a tumultuous few months at the NHA, but the newest member of the NHA Board was voted in as Chairman of the NHA on 19 March 2015. We thought we’d get to know him a little better.

Who is Andrew?

“Oh I’m just an old goat!” he chuckles down the phone. Sixty-seven year old Andy grew up in in the Southern Suburbs of Johannesburg, not too far from the local racing stables and the racecourse. His father was very friendly with heavy weight jockey Harry Berry and Andy grew up surrounded by racing people. He says it was always simply part and parcel of life.

He did his schooling at The Hill High School in Johannesburg and started training as a teacher, although he never completed the course. He was an infantry officer during his national service and then got into the security business. Although he counts himself as semi-retired these days, he is still involved with his security company and helps run it along with his two sons.

Cricket

Although he was a keen sportsman at school, his interest mainly lay on the football field and it was only later, through his sons, that he began his involvement with cricket in earnest. He started umpiring, going from club level to becoming a national panel umpire and then made his way onto “a few boards”. He is currently President of the Eastern Cricket Union, chairman of the Eastern Titans franchise and survived the Gerald Majola scandal to become a board member of Cricket South Africa.

Horses

Andy has always been a racing fan, he says a sage piece of advice from Harry Berry kept him from buying his first horse until 1999. “Harry once told me ‘it’s easy to buy a racehorse. But if it has to run to feed itself, then you’re in trouble. I always remembered that.” He bought his first horse, Classic Lord, at the National Yearling Sales in 1999. “He was smaller than Teal, but finished 3rd in the 2001 Cape Derby,” he reminisces fondly. Other notable horses he’s been associated with are Winter Bird and Carnoustie and he still has shares in a number of racehorses and a few breeding interests, although he admits that graded winners have proved elusive.

Racing administration

Andy has served as a director on the Racing Association for 5 years as well and is not a stranger to the NHA as he served on the board as the RA’s appointee during 2013 and is also a member of the NHA’s Appeal Board.

He says that when the Central Provinces seat became vacant, he was asked to stand for the board by a number of members. Regarding the rumoured electioneering that occurred ahead of his election to the Board, Andy returns a firm ‘no comment’.

Andy has stated from the get go that he has a great desire to ensure that the credibility of the NHA is beyond reproach. He feels that his experience as a first class cricket umpire stands him in good stead in this regard and will help him understand the laws and rules of racing and how to apply them. “I think 99% of people want a level playing field and the NHA must attempt to keep it level. I will definitely be driving the stipendiary side. I think South African racing has historically been regarded as being well managed and controlled, but that this may have a slipped somewhat over recent years for a number of reasons, finance being one of them. My main goal is to restore the NHA’s integrity back to where it once was and put racing back where it belongs. As the regulatory body, it’s imperative for us to have integrity as well as credibility. It’s important to get rid of the untrustworthy elements. After all, people’s lives are at stake.”

The progress on the S’manga Khumalo case is becoming an increasingly burning issue as the season enters its final phase and Andy confirms that matters are on their way to court.

Structural changes

With regard to the turbulent times the NHA is facing, Andy says that we can look forward to some exciting and positive changes in the near future, including greater transparency. “I think that’s in line with where people want sports bodies to go these days and you have to follow the feeling of what people want. We’ve got some good people and a good board of directors and I feel we can take things forward. I do think there are a few areas where we’ve fallen down and let a few things slip, but there’s room for improvement in everybody’s life!”

There has been a certain amount of disagreement with the operators, in particular over the funding model, but Andy feels that the proposed changes will be positively received in that quarter too. “I think they would prefer it. They are paying for a service and it’s not unreasonable for them to expect the NHA to carry out its duties and to perform the function it’s being paid for.”

World Cup

Any comments on the cricket? “I’m very disappointed that South Africa was beaten. We were the best team in the tournament, but of course as we know in racing, it’s not always the best horse that wins the race. The sun will come up again tomorrow.”