Future of Chelmsford City racecourse in the balance

The next three fixtures at Chelmsford, including the Essex track’s Good Friday fixture, have been cancelled after the British Horseracing Authority refused to grant a licence to the racecourse’s intended new operating company, Golden Mile Racing Limited.

The new company was formed after the previous licence holder, Great Leighs Estates Limited, was placed in administration.

The BHA board made a preliminary decision not to grant Golden Mile Racing Limited a licence at the weekend, but in accordance with the ruling body’s published criteria, GMRL had the ability to make oral and written representations to the board with legal representation and made their case on Tuesday.

But the board’s positioned remained that it did not consider it appropriate to grant GMRL a racecourse licence for Chelmsford City Racecourse, with the reasons kept confidential.

The decision means Chelmsford’s meetings on April 2, April 3 and April 9 will not be staged, pending the outcome of any appeal, and puts the future of the racecourse in significant doubt.

In accordance with the rules of racing, GMRL may appeal the board’s decision to the independent Licensing Committee. A request for permission to appeal must be made to the Judicial Panel Executive within 21 days of receipt of the decision being challenged.

Posting a statement on its X account, Chelmsford said: “This is deeply disappointing for all involved. The festival was set to feature over £300,000 in prize-money, shared among declared 123 horses from both top domestic and international yards, with more than 8,000 attendees, broadcast live on ITV across the two days.

“This decision has been made solely at the discretion of the British Horseracing Authority. The situation follows Chelmsford City Racecourse preparing to operate under a newly licensed entity as part of routine restructuring.

“The BHA had previously outlined a four-point criteria that needed to be satisfied for the licence transfer to proceed, criteria which were fully met.

“However, at 12:00pm on Monday, the BHA reversed its position, disregarding its own stated licensing objectives and introducing new challenges with extremely limited time for response. Yesterday, it was confirmed that it was the BHA’s desire to abandon the fixtures, with no supporting rationale provided, and despite every effort from the racecourse and its partners, this morning this was formally confirmed.

“Despite the clear significance of this festival to racegoers, horsemen, the local community, partners, and broadcasters, the BHA board has chosen to proceed with this course of action. No concerns have been raised regarding performance, capability, safety, or the quality of the racecourse, and no further explanation has been given.”

It added: “Chelmsford City Racecourse will be appealing this decision and remains committed to its role as a key contributor to British racing, consistently delivering strong attendances and hosting high-value competition.

“We are working to resume racing as soon as possible to minimise disruption to fans, participants, and stakeholders.”

In response, the BHA said: “The BHA disagrees with this characterisation of events.

“However, it is right that any appeal submitted by Golden Mile Racing Limited to the independent Licensing Committee must be able to proceed in the appropriate way.

“We will not make any further public comment regarding Golden Mile Racing Limited’s racecourse licence application or the BHA Board’s decision until the conclusion of any appeal.”

It added: “These are sensitive commercial matters which are confidential. The process cannot be played out in public.”