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Have just received this press release. It will be interesting to see if Great Leighs reveal the reasons.
I must admit, even though I don’t particularly want another artificial surface course, I’m surprised they have been rejected again.
[i:3v253drz]BHA rejects Great Leighs’ application for 2014 fixtures
27/06/2013 16:30
The Board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has decided not to approve an application on behalf of MC Racetracks Limited for Great Leighs racecourse to participate in the 2014 fixture allocation process.
The Board considered the application at its June meeting. Recommendations were submitted to the Board by a sub-committee established to consider the application, which comprised Ben Gunn, Morag Gray and Chief Executive Paul Bittar, and was supported throughout by the BHA Executive.
MC Racetracks Limited has been notified of the decision, the reasons for which are private between BHA and MC Racetracks Limited.
Adam Brickell, Director of Integrity, Legal and Risk for the BHA, said:
“The application has been given careful and thorough consideration, but the Board was not in a position to approve Great Leighs’ participation in the 2014 fixture allocation process.
“BHA remains open to new racecourse applications under our annual guidelines, and will continue to provide the necessary assistance and guidance to prospective applicants.”
Notes to Editors1. Under the control of Essex County Showground Group Limited, Great Leighs staged its first race meeting on 20th April 2008.
2. The last race meeting to take place at Great Leighs under the control of Essex County Showground Group Limited was on 15th January 2009.
3. On 17th January 2009 it was announced that the companies owning the Racecourse had gone into administration.
4. On 23rd May 2012 the BHA announced that an application submitted on behalf of MC Racetracks Limited for Great Leighs to join the 2013 fixture allocation process had not been approved by its Board.
[/color:3v253drz][/i:3v253drz]I thought it was foolish to have a grandstand in the middle of the course so its no loss to me. I’m also happy to do without another course with an artificial surface.
MC Racetracks Limited has been informed of the decision, the reasons for which will remain private between the two parties, according to the BHA. However reports earlier this week indicated that the BHA was seeking financial guarantees over the track’s future, despite a deal having already been agreed with At The Races to screen racing from the course.
Trainers love the surface at Great Leighs and are using it for special gallops. Surprised if some enterprising trainer doesn’t set up camp there.
I thought it was foolish to have a grandstand in the middle of the course so its no loss to me. I’m also happy to do without another course with an artificial surface.
I fairness to the original owners they were shafted with the grandstand as the land where the grandstand was originally going to be built, outside the track, was grabbed by the council to build a new by-pass.
Then it sounds as if the original owners didn’t do their planning very well!
However, I do think the reasons why Great Leighs have been refused should be made public. Sometimes there’s too much secrecy in the decision making.
It’s sad that Great Leighs won’t be back next year, as any extra racing is a good thing in my book. Even so, I think the BHA are right to be cautious if there are any questions about the financial viability of the course.
They are NOT happy:
http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-ra … t7DaysNews
Could this lead to MC Racetracks pulling out altogether? And, as per one of the commentators on the RP website page, exactly how many applications for new racecourses are the BHA getting these days? Less than one is my guess.
I’m not a fan of all-weather racing by any means, but the impression being given with all the secrecy is that something is going on at the BHA regarding this course in particular.
I can understand they may have concerns over the financing side, but surely they could consider allocating some races to the course pending further financial assurances being forthcoming? An allocation of say, 20, would give the course a reasonable number to start with in 2014 and it wouldn’t be disastrous if they subsequently had to be dropped from the schedule.
Plans for building the permanent grandstand were submitted and approved by the Borough Council after the Gt Leighs bypass had been built. There is plenty of room between the road and the track to accommodate the planned grandstand.
As far as I can recollect, the previous owners expectations as to what he thought he should receive in compensation for the compulsory purchase was far in excess of what Essex County Council actually paid out.
I saw recently in the local paper that the new owners plans had been approved by the Council, but they also want to have a temporary stand in the middle. Maybe,at present,they cannot raise the capital required to build a proper stand.
Originally it was planned that racing stables would be built behind the backstretch as is found at tracks in America. Perhaps the way forward would be to get that done and use it solely as a training track.
I also recall that originally the BHA had problems granting a license because there was no roadway around the inside of the track for an ambulance to follow the races round as they were run. Some temporary compromise must have been reached,perhaps this still has not been addressed.
The article on Great Leighs in Private Eye is well worth reading
Smoke, mirrors and nepotism sums it up; and the BHA’s handling of it would appear to be wholly correct
New company has taken over and hopes to have fixtures in 2015.
latest Private Eye – new news or old news ?
Not sure if that’s a leading question Wit, or means you don’t have access to the article
Anyway FWIW
Dunno if it’s old or new, more a grey merger of old and new perhaps
This latest chapter appears to revolve around Fred Done’s joint venture with Bet Solutions International, who are reportedly the parent company of Great Leighs’s "betting partner" Betsi Ltd, which is reported as "officially" a "dormant" "shell company" formed by John Holmes in 2002, now, following Holmes’ bankruptcy, chaired by his live-in partner, one Jill Turner. Shareholders include Holmes’s son
"MC Racetracks are no longer involved" say the new owners
Apparently Holmes senior and Turner were arrested last month "on suspicion of involvement in a £2.4m VAT fraud"
cont. p94
ad infinitum
, I guess
Hi Drone
Thanks for that.
Now seen the PE article and it seems a bit thin in not putting a focus either on the company named by the BBC as having made the ‘Betfred’ announcement, Tote Media Ltd
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/25454870
or, perhaps more significantly, on a July 2013 company named Great Leighs Estates Limited (Company No. 08614282), which has had a flurry of filings since Christmas.
Tote Media Limited just has the incorporating Warrington solicitor showing on its board at the moment.
Great Leighs Estates Limited though shows Mr Disley leaving as director on Christmas Eve and Betfred’s Mr Scanlon joining as director on New Year’s Eve, coinciding with a move in the company’s registered office from Great Leighs to Warrington.
A charge was also registered on 28 December, with changes in share rights and amounts following in early January.
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