Chelmsford City loses licence to host fixtures

The Board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has today (1 April) confirmed that a racecourse licence will not be granted to Golden Mile Racing Limited (GMRL), the new company formed to operate Chelmsford City Racecourse (CCR) following the previous licence holder Great Leighs Estates Limited (GLEL) being placed in administration.

The Board made a preliminary decision at the weekend. In accordance with the BHA’s published criteria GMRL had the ability to make oral and written representations to the Board with legal representation.

GMRL representatives made their case to the Board on 31 March. Having considered the matter carefully and taken full account of the points raised, the Board’s position remained that it did not consider it appropriate to grant a racecourse licence for CCR to GMRL.

The reasons for this decision are confidential.

The Board’s decision means GMRL is not licensed to stage any fixtures, pending the outcome of any appeal.  This means that regrettably no further fixtures will be staged at CCR pending the outcome of any appeal process. This includes the fixtures on 2 April, 3 April and 9 April.

In accordance with the Rules of Racing, GMRL may appeal the Board’s decision to the independent Licensing Committee (Rule (B)19).  A request for permission to appeal must be made to the Judicial Panel Executive within 21 days of receipt of the decision being challenged (Judicial Panels Code, paragraph 105).  The 21-day time period starts from the date GMRL receives the written reasons.

The fixture that took place on 26 March went ahead under the old licence holder GLEL and with agreement of the administrator. However, the licence held by GLEL expired on 31 March and so future fixtures required a new licence holder to be in place.

The fixtures on 2 April and 3 April will not be rescheduled. Plans for future fixtures including 9 April will be announced in due course.

The BHA has worked tirelessly with stakeholders to deliver this week’s fixtures. It is regrettable they have been cancelled at such short notice. We recognise this will impact owners, participants – especially trainers, staff and jockeys – as well as racegoers.

Further updates as regards this situation will be provided as appropriate.