Racing was “forcefully abandoned” at Chelmsford City Racecourse on Thursday and Friday after the British Horse Racing Board’s (BHA) board’s decision not to grant a license to Golden Mile Racing Limited (GMRL). The latter is the name of a new company set up to run Chelmsford City Racecourse (CCR) in place of former licensee Great Leighs Estates Limited (GLEL), which has been put into administration.
The turn of events described by Chelmsford City manager Nathan Holmes as “disgusting” included the announcements made on Wednesday morning by Weatherbys for the Good Friday concert, which was intended to take the entire prize money of £251,000. Two hours later the BHA made an announcement about the canceled arrangements, saying “the reasons for this decision are confidential”. The first decision on licensing was made by the BHA board on Sunday. GMRL was then allowed to make oral and written submissions to the board members on March 31 but failed to get the decision overturned.
Chelmsford City Racecourse now once again faces an uncertain future. Its meeting scheduled for April 9 has also been cancelled, with the possibility that future arrangements will depend on the outcome of the appeal.
A BHA statement released just after midday on Thursday read, “After careful consideration of the matter and consideration of the facts presented, the board’s position remains that it does not consider it appropriate to grant a racecourse license for CCR to the GMRL.
“The Board’s decision means that GMRL does not have a license to conduct sports, pending the outcome of any appeal. This means that unfortunately no further arrangements will be made at CCR pending the outcome of any appeal process. This includes the games on 2nd April, 3rd April and 9th April.
The license held by GLEL expired on March 31st, and a recent meeting held at the venue on March 26th was given permission to proceed with a director’s agreement. The 2nd and 3rd April amendments will not be postponed again.
The BHA statement continued, “Plans for future games, including April 9, will be announced in due course.
“The BHA has worked hard with the participants to deliver this week’s games. We are sorry that they have been canceled at such short notice. We recognize that this will affect the participants – particularly trainers, staff and riders – as well as the racers.”
Formerly known as Great Leighs, racing began at Chelmsford under the ownership of John Holmes in 2008, but the track closed in 2009 when the original ownership company was placed into administration. Since its rebirth as Chelmsford City Racecourse in 2015, the operating license for the course has been held by Great Leighs Estates Limited. The CEOs of the financial institutions were officially appointed for GLEL by the High Court on 25 March.
The proposed transfer of the license from GLEL to Golden Mile Racing Limited, of which John Holmes and his son Nathan are listed as directors, is said to be part of a “proposed restructuring”. That development includes the location of a separate racetrack and racing operations in September 2024.
A document released by Chelmsford City Racecourse on Wednesday said, “Golden Mile Racing Limited (GMRL) has been established as a new entity with independent governance and access to new capital, to ensure that the racing operation is independent from those historical issues – to ensure that the sport, its participants, employees and creditors are protected for the long term.”
Nathan Holmes said of the late cancellation of the Essex track’s Easter meeting, “This is a disgraceful decision and an affront to the people who work so hard to make horse racing possible across the country. It directly affects horse riders, the more than 8,000 runners who were due to attend, and advertisers, with far-reaching financial implications for an industry expected to make billions.
“The manner in which this situation has been handled is deeply concerning. Chelmsford City Racecourse will be pursuing a legal challenge to recover all costs associated with this decision. This outcome is completely at odds with the principles that the British Horse Racing Authority claims to uphold and raises serious questions about procedural fairness and good governance.
“Chelmsford City Racecourse is an award-winning venue and one of the busiest racecourses in the country in terms of attendance and punter numbers, supported by modern, high-quality facilities.
The delay in the announcement from the BHA, after Friday’s plans were officially finalized, has drawn some criticism from participants. Trainer Stuart Williams, who entered the runners for all three weather meetings on New Friday, said on social media, “This decision seemed inevitable from what was in the press, but to pull the fuss after making the announcements of the Friday meeting at 10 am is a real slap in the face to the owners / trainers. [jockeys]. Some of these tribes have been attacked for months. A deafening sound from [the BHA].”
Jockey Paddy Bradley said in his X report, “To allow announcements at 10am on the richest racing day of the year and cancel the game an hour later leaving jockeys unable to ride in other meetings is a disgrace.”
Trainer John Berry added, “It’s disappointing but you get used to disappointment. And in our case the disappointment is mitigated by the fact that the horse we announced for Chelmsford on Friday, Merrijig, has a chance at Kempton on Monday, so he can go there.
Clearly there was a hangover over Chelmsford’s future, both immediate and long-term, following the announcement of the education funding crisis last week. more disruption would cause more people.”
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