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Chelmsford’s future has been thrown into major doubt after the racecourse lost its licence to host fixtures and its upcoming meetings, including the high-profile Good Friday card, were cancelled.
The BHA said on Wednesday that it “did not consider it appropriate” to licence a new company, Golden Mile Racing Limited (GMRL), to operate the venue after Great Leighs Estates Limited (GLEL), which had run racing at Chelmsford, went into administration last week.
Trainers’ slammed the decision made at such short notice when the races involved had been long-standing targets for certain horses, with Eve Johnson Houghton saying: “The timing stinks. They’re materially affecting people’s livelihoods.”
The refusal to licence GMRL was described as “a disgraceful decision and an insult to the people who work tirelessly to make racing happen across the country” by Nathan Holmes, Chelmsford’s chief executive, while participants expressed fury at the meetings being pulled after declarations and final fields had been confirmed.
After GLEL entered administration, special dispensation was provided by the BHA and administrators Begbies Traynor to allow last Thursday’s fixture to go ahead. The BHA also permitted entries for Thursday and Friday this week, with the races contingent on approval by the regulator.
However, the BHA said on Wednesday that following written and oral representations to the board by GMRL, the decision had been taken not to grant the company a licence. The regulator added its reasons for denying a licence were confidential.
Chelmsford: track will not stage its upcoming fixturesCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)
The BHA added in a statement: “This means that regrettably no further fixtures will be staged at Chelmsford pending the outcome of any appeal process.
“The fixtures on April 2 and April 3 will not be rescheduled. Plans for future fixtures including April 9 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.”
The decision to refuse GMRL a licence in advance of one of Chelmsford’s biggest meetings of the year was slammed by Holmes, who said a restructuring of the running of the racecourse had been ongoing since 2024 with the BHA aware of the process.
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.
Following its presentation to the BHA board on Tuesday, Chelmsford said it requested a 48-hour extension to its previous licence from the BHA to allow this week’s fixtures to go ahead, but was rebuffed.
Chelmsford: plans to appeal against the BHA’s decisionCredit: Alan Crowhurst
Holmes said: “This is a disgraceful decision and an insult to the people who work tirelessly to make racing happen across the country. It directly impacts horsemen, the more than 8,000 racegoers who were due to attend and broadcasters, with the wider financial consequences to the industry expected to run into millions of pounds.
“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 stands in complete contradiction to the principles the BHA claims to uphold and raises serious questions regarding procedural fairness and appropriate governance.
“Chelmsford City racecourse is an award-winning venue and one of the busiest racecourses in the country in terms of attendance and fixture volume, supported by modern, high-quality facilities. To deny the new racing operator its licence and prevent racing from taking place this week is, quite simply, a scandal.”
Holmes added that the track would provide refunds to affected customers.
Paul Witten, managing director at SIS, Chelmsford’s media rights partner, added: “SIS is disappointed that racing has been cancelled at Chelmsford and remains optimistic that, pending the grant of a licence to Golden Mile Racing, it will be able to resume its longstanding relationship as the racecourse’s media rights partner.”
Chelmsford was first opened as Great Leighs in 2008, but closed a year later after running into financial difficulties. It reopened in 2015, but problems have been building at the track since last year.
In October, a fixture was close to being delayed after a last-minute agreement was reached with medical staff to allow it to go ahead, but only after a planned stalls test before the meeting had been cancelled due to their non-attendance.
On New Year’s Eve, racecourse staff were informed they would receive only 80 per cent of their monthly salary, which management blamed on “circumstances beyond our control”. The situation has since been resolved.
The course was also involved in legal action with a company regarding the hosting of a Justin Timberlake concert at the track last summer. The case was settled out of court prior to Great Leighs Estates Limited going into administration.
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