Great Leighs racecourse: licence denied by BHA

There could be no racing at Great Leighs racecourse until 2011 after the Essex racecourse today (Friday 29 May) suffered another setback.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced this afternoon it has rejected an application for a licence for the course.

And the course needed to have a licence by today to be eligible to enter into the fixture allocation process for 2010.

There has been no racing at Great Leighs since 16 January when it went into administration.

Two weeks ago (15 May) a potential sale to Essex businessman Terry Chambers fell through, although there are still believed to be buyers interested in the course.

An application was made by Great Leighs Racecourse Ltd, who were seeking to run the racecourse, but was denied by the BHA.

A statement from the BHA said: “A sub-committee of the board of the BHA has considered a racecourse licence application from Great Leighs Racecourse Limited and has today declined to grant that entity a racecourse licence.

“Great Leighs Racecourse Limited will therefore not be entitled to take part in the 2010 fixture allocation process.”

Racing could still take place at Great Leighs next year as administrators Deloitte hold the lease for 12 fixtures in 2010 that have not yet been reallocated.

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