Tradition vs Innovation. Weatherbys enters the 21st Century

He’s teamed up with superstar racing commentator Peter O’Sullevan (“He’s like the god of the racing world!”) to produce a series of ringtones to create a bit of a buzz about the sport. Sullevan has re-recorded his commentary of some of the biggest races in horse-racing history, featuring the likes of Red Rum, Aldaniti and Moscow Flyer. “They’re just a bit of fun,” says Craven. “But it’s a great way to up the profile of racing with one of the most famous voices in the industry.” In the name of progress, Craven has also redesigned the race-cards and sports brochures produced by the company to give them a more modern bent. “They look more magazine-y now,” says Craven. “There’s more editorial – people will want to hang on to them, they’re not just throw-away pamphlets.” This is all part of a drive to bring Weatherbys into the 21st century. “We’re looking at doing blogs, newsletters, online race-cards…” says Craven. “We’ve invested 400,000 in IT development to put our thoroughbred breed register online.” “We’ve also been trying to demystify the bloodstock side of the business,” he continues. “Traditionally it’s been viewed as something of a black art. People can use our database of around two million horses to find the most suitable sire for a brood mare. It sounds far more complicated than it is, so we’re calling it ‘speed dating’.” The ringtones are available from the Weatherbys website from the 7th March, priced at £3 each. All proceeds go to the Peter O’Sullevan charitable trust.

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