Delia Bushell was one of 19 witnesses interviewed as part of a review into allegations about her conduct and the findings made it “untenable” for her to stay in the role, the organization’s board said.

The former BT Sport and Sky executive was given the job little more than a year ago.

The Jockey Club, which owns a number of high-profile tracks including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom and Newmarket, said an independent barrister had submitted a detailed report to a sub-committee of the board last week.

That committee decided there was a basis for disciplinary action against Bushell including on the grounds of gross misconduct.

In a statement to Britain’s PA news agency, the Jockey Club said the barrister’s report “concluded that there was evidence to support a number of the allegations of misconduct including bullying behavior towards colleagues, inappropriate racist comments and sharing offensive materials.”

Nevin Truesdale has been appointed as acting group chief executive, the Jockey Club said.