Great Leighs Racecourse
Encyclopedia
Great Leighs Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Leighs
near Chelmsford
, Essex
, England
. When it opened in April 2008 it was the first completely new racecourse in the UK since Taunton
opened in 1927. It went into administration the following January, and it is not known if racing will resume.
Great Leighs was developed and owned by entrepreneur John Holmes and his son, Jonathan. It aimed to exploit potentially the largest unserved market in British horseracing. Overall there is slightly more than one racecourse per million people in Great Britain, but there is no racecourse in Essex (population >1.6 million) or in east London (formerly part of Essex and with a population >1.5 million) or in the neighbouring county of Hertfordshire
(population >1 million). However the course is only 50 miles from Newmarket, the largest racehorse training centre in Britain. The course is laid out as an eight-and-a-half furlong
left-handed Polytrack
oval, with a two-furlong home straight. The 10,000-capacity grandstand was used at the 2006 Ryder Cup
.
On 20 April 2008 the racecourse finally staged its first race meeting, with the opening race being won by Temple of Thebes. The meeting was attended by an invited audience only and the first meeting with full public admission took place on 28 May 2008. The venue attracted some praise for some of its racing facilities, and considerable criticism for the incomplete state of its visitor facilities. Attendances did not meet expectations.
, to see whether it was willing to take ownership of the course, and contract out the management of its operations to an established race course operator. The administrators subsequently made a deal with a local businessman, Terry Chambers, to lease the course to him for 18 months, but the course was unable to obtain a racing licence and therefore was ineligible to bid for fixtures for 2010. In September 2009 the administrator announced that they had struck a deal for Chambers and Bill Gredley to buy the racecourse with the hope that racing could resume in 2011. The deal fell through, and in June 2010 the administrators announced that they had given up hope of selling the business as a going concern, and had started discussions with the Royal Bank of Scotland to find an alternative use for the site. However, in March 2011 it was reported that Andrew Tinkler, chief executive of Eddie Stobart Ltd
, was in discussions with Royal Bank of Scotland about reopening the track as a racecourse.
Great Leighs
Great Leighs is a village in Essex, England, half way between Chelmsford and Braintree. In 2008 Great Leighs became home to the first new racecourse in 80 years, when the nearby Essex County Showground was converted into a state-of-the-art horse-racing venue...
near Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. When it opened in April 2008 it was the first completely new racecourse in the UK since Taunton
Taunton Racecourse
Taunton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Orchard Portman, two miles south of Taunton, Somerset, England. Opened in 1927, Taunton is the youngest National Hunt course in England, and the last racecourse to be opened in Britain until Great Leighs in 2008.-History:Horse...
opened in 1927. It went into administration the following January, and it is not known if racing will resume.
Great Leighs was developed and owned by entrepreneur John Holmes and his son, Jonathan. It aimed to exploit potentially the largest unserved market in British horseracing. Overall there is slightly more than one racecourse per million people in Great Britain, but there is no racecourse in Essex (population >1.6 million) or in east London (formerly part of Essex and with a population >1.5 million) or in the neighbouring county of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
(population >1 million). However the course is only 50 miles from Newmarket, the largest racehorse training centre in Britain. The course is laid out as an eight-and-a-half furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
left-handed Polytrack
Polytrack
A synthetic racetrack surface is any kind of surface substance that replaces grass, dirt or sand as the racing surface on a horse racing track. Synthetic surfaces may be desirable over traditional surfaces for several reasons, most prominently the reduction of injuries and possible deaths to horses...
oval, with a two-furlong home straight. The 10,000-capacity grandstand was used at the 2006 Ryder Cup
2006 Ryder Cup
The 36th Ryder Cup Matches were held 22–24 September 2006 at the K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Team Europe won the competition by a score of 18½ to 9½ points, equalling their record winning margin of 2 years earlier. This was the first time Europe had achieved three successive victories...
.
Opening
Great Leighs was originally scheduled to open in October 2006, but the opening was deferred several times. On 20 March 2008 the racecourse announced that the opening fixture would be postponed to 20 April 2008 with the original opening date, 4 April 2008, being used a test day.On 20 April 2008 the racecourse finally staged its first race meeting, with the opening race being won by Temple of Thebes. The meeting was attended by an invited audience only and the first meeting with full public admission took place on 28 May 2008. The venue attracted some praise for some of its racing facilities, and considerable criticism for the incomplete state of its visitor facilities. Attendances did not meet expectations.
Closure
The course was placed into administration and its temporary racing licence revoked on 16 January 2009. In March 2009 the administrators announced that the two parties that had made bids for the course had failed to demonstrate that they had sufficient financial backing. The administrators stated that they would enter into negotiations with the main creditor, the Royal Bank of ScotlandRoyal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
, to see whether it was willing to take ownership of the course, and contract out the management of its operations to an established race course operator. The administrators subsequently made a deal with a local businessman, Terry Chambers, to lease the course to him for 18 months, but the course was unable to obtain a racing licence and therefore was ineligible to bid for fixtures for 2010. In September 2009 the administrator announced that they had struck a deal for Chambers and Bill Gredley to buy the racecourse with the hope that racing could resume in 2011. The deal fell through, and in June 2010 the administrators announced that they had given up hope of selling the business as a going concern, and had started discussions with the Royal Bank of Scotland to find an alternative use for the site. However, in March 2011 it was reported that Andrew Tinkler, chief executive of Eddie Stobart Ltd
Stobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
, was in discussions with Royal Bank of Scotland about reopening the track as a racecourse.