Great Leighs request refused
Great Leighs' application to be given fixtures in 2013 has been turned down by the British Horseracing Authority.
Last Updated: 23/05/12 3:00pm
Great Leighs' application to be given fixtures in 2013 has been turned down by the British Horseracing Authority.
The racecourse, near Chelmsford in Essex, was the first new track to open in Britain for 81 years but only lasted for a few months before going into administration in January 2009.
Now under different ownership, there had been hopes towards the end of last year that it could make a return.
The BHA board considered an application on behalf of MC Racetracks at their May meeting but decided not to approve it and has since notified the company of their findings.
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."
Disappointment
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."