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I see they have lost their license and Fridays meeting has been cancelled with no plans to reschedule the races.
The more I know the less I understand.
I expect a solution will be found and the track will muddle through somehow. It closed for a while when it was still called Great Leighs but eventually reopened.
But if it did close, would anyone miss the place? It is a dreadful track with the worst viewing in the country.
The other five all weather tracks are more than adequate. Chelmsford is a white elephant.
A bit of a basket case from the start, but surely serves purpose being the closest artificial surface track to Newmarket. Jockey Club seem determined to let Kempton Park go so would surely want Chelmsford to stay active?
Grandstand in the middle of the pitch, what’s that all about?
Not sure what the latest is, but there have been plans to open an AW track at Newmarket for a number of years, which would obviously render Chelmsford redundant.
Glad, I suspect the AW track at Newmarket is part of the Kempton sale plan in the future.
You’re probably right, mate.
It’s a shame but bookmakers run the sport these days. To hell with the racegoers.
BHA can’t help themselves can they. They allow declarations to be made for the two days and then several hours later they confirm both fixtures are cancelled. This lastminute.com decision means jockeys that were booked for rides both days now can’t book rides for Lingfield’s AW Championship day lose earnings and trainers having declared horses to run also lose out financially.
Surely the BHA could have given a temporary one off emergency licence to hold the two day fixture and then said that all future fixtures are suspended pending sorting out this mess.
Always thought the JC’s plan for an AW course at Newmarket was pretty much dependant on Kempton being sold off to generate the readies to pay for it, if Kempton does get sold and Chelmsford also goes belly up, that potentially means no AW racing in the south….sounds like a solid plan!
Between them the BHA and the JC (the so called custodians of the sport) are taking a long and continuous dump all over racing.
No AW racing at all?
Takes me back to the good old days… when racing wasn’t dancing purely to the bookmakers’ tune.
Surely Lingfield is in the South?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysI live a few miles from Lingfield and have no idea where it is.
Although I miraculously remember its location when it stages a national hunt meeting.
LD73,
I reckon there would have been a lot more complaints if the BHA had done as you suggest and let those meetings go ahead.
Because nobody would have been happy if they found out they weren’t getting any prize money. I’d suggest that the reason this outfit weren’t given a licence is because they couldn’t come up with guarantees for the necessary funds. This is what happened leading up to the original Great Leighs closure, when meetings were held and the BHA/Levy Board had to come up with the prize money when the owners couldn’t pay. Can’t blame the BHA for once bitten, twice shy.
AP – Given this comment in the RP it would appear that the prize money issue was met:
“According to Chelmsford, racecourse management and the BHA had met on March 3 to discuss a four-point plan for GMRL to be licensed, with the BHA imposing “a condition requiring pre-payment of all liabilities, including prize-money three days before each fixture, which was met”.
“On Monday, Chelmsford alleged the BHA abandoned its previously “constructive” position when the racecourse was told the BHA did “not consider it appropriate to grant a racecourse licence to GMRL at this stage”. The venue said concerns were raised about GLEL’s creditor position, the ownership of racecourse fixtures and the suitability of GMRL’s directors”.
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