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I have just received the following press release from the BHA
BHA turns down Great Leighs’ application for 2013 fixtures
At its May meeting the Board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) considered an application on behalf of MC Racetracks Limited for Great Leighs Racecourse to participate in the 2013 fixture allocation process.
The BHA Board decided not to approve the application and has since notified MC Racetracks Limited of its finding.
Will Lambe, Head of External Affairs for the BHA, said:
“We have informed those involved with the Great Leighs submission of the Board’s concerns, and although we won’t be discussing them publicly we have offered to provide the racecourse with some guidance as to how they might be addressed in any future applications. When it is appropriate, we have said they are welcome to submit an application to be part of the 2014 fixture list."
[/color:2h5f1awf]Great Leighs wasn’t ready for fixtures first time around. BHA needing to redeploy their fixtures to other courses. Presumably the BHA don’t think they’re ready this time around either (or don’t want to take the chance). Hardly an "outrage" Itsawar.
Value Is EverythingI don’t know why they cant just plough the necessary money into GL and employ a Towcester type model to attract bums on seats.
The hard work is done, and the track is laid. How difficult can it be? It has to be a better investment than shares in a social media data mining operation.The continuing Ballad of Not-so-Great Leighs.
The course that was born with a grandstand in it’s middle, the revolutionary construction funded by the Zombie Bank of Scotland (who else?).
Their most pressing problem when they opened? The one to be prioritised over all others? The 16 runner safety limit on the sprint course. Nicknamed ‘the killing fields’, owing to the zero deaths and injuries that resulted from such generous provisions. Good job they got Kevin Darley down to give his blessing to a 15 runner safety limit. All their problems solved.
I wonder if by any chance the newmarket all weather venture is being revisited , and would this have had any bearing on the decision
just my opinion of course
Ricky
Sad news but I can only assume it’s because they can’t sort the facilities out as it’s a good AW track approved of by trainers and jockeys.
No point in having a great track though if the paying spectator can’t watch the race, unless they can provide a place where you can stand and watch an entire race as you can at the other AW tracks, it’s not ready.
Still, they have a year to sort things now.
In response, Keith Brown, chairman of MC Racetracks, said: "We are disappointed that BHA has turned down our application for inclusion in the 2013 fixture process.
"While we satisfied the BHA on a number of issues, particularly our high-quality racing surface, BHA need to be satisfied in other aspects of our application.
"We intend to seek an early meeting with BHA to resolve the outstanding matters before making a new application so that racing can be resumed at Great Leighs at the earliest opportunity."
Fantastic news!
We don’t need any more fixtures and certainly no more all weather meetings.....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Fantastic news!
We don’t need any more fixtures and certainly no more all weather meetings.Totally agree
Luddites!
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highways:D wonderful news
all weather is the cancer of racing and we need less of it not more!I think it’s class 6 racing that is the issue, not the surface. Turf hasn’t looked such a great proposition during the periods of snow/ice/rain we’ve had over the last six months.
I’m not sure from where the idea that these would be extra or additional meetings has bubbled up. Once given permission to hold meetings again, wouldn’t Great Leighs’ success in building up a new portfolio of fixtures still be dependent on a mixture of adroit bidding for available slots on given days (outbidding the incumbent holders) and the hoovering up of the odd few slots vacated by courses no longer wishing to hold them?
If the number of artificial surface meetings actually increases once Great Leighs is once more functional, then that’s more of an indictment of those bidding on behalf of turf courses for letting that situation arise – let’s not presume that MC Racetracks is going to be gunning solely for Wolvo, Lingfield, Kempton or Southwell’s existing race-slots.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
There are far too many poor and underscribed NH races at far-flung venues that operate as a racetrack for about a week a year and as a field for the remainder.
Being NH racing, most people think it’s extra cruel and should be banned anyway.
Obviously it’s from these that we should find the resource for the additional AW fixtures.
As soon as GL can sort out the facilities they will get the fixtures, it’s as simple as that. They just have to be able to offer an honest value card of racing for the track-going punter – if they need any help they can PM me, I have time on my hands at present, happy to help.
Just a matter of time, all things being sensible.
We don’t need any more fixtures and certainly no more all weather meetings.
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