Uncertainty continues as February Towcester meeting is moved

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced that Towcester’s 13 February fixture has been moved to Musselburgh.

It comes after the historic venue entered into administration due to trading difficulties causing its three scheduled meetings for the end of 2018 to be moved.

Prior to entering into administration, a statement from the course revealed: “Towcester Racecourse Company Limited, proprietors of Towcester Racecourse, are currently experiencing trading difficulties and are in discussions with key stakeholders and professional advisors on the way forward.

“However, the directors have concluded that they have no alternative in the short term but to seek court protection and are now taking steps to place the company into Administration.

“As a result, it is with regret that the greyhound meetings on this Friday, 17th August and over the weekend at Towcester Racecourse have been cancelled.”

The track was later sold to a company connected to course Chairman, Lord Hesketh. It was hoped that this would allow racing to recommence at the historic venue, however the BHA has now confirmed that the track’s scheduled February meetings will take place at Musselburgh.  

At the time of the sale, the administrators KPMG issued the following statement: “The assets included in the sale are the ten Towcester horse racing fixtures, machinery, equipment, buildings [stands] and dog track located at Towcester Racecourse. Having received a significant amount of interest in the assets, the offer received from Fermor Land LLP represents the best return to creditors.”

One of the most prestigious greyhound meetings, The Star Sports Greyhound Derby, which was previously hosted by Towcester, has been moved to Nottingham for 2019. The track is set to double its capacity from the current 2,000 for the event, which still sees it at 1,000 less than Towcester.

Underlining what it means to host the event, Nottingham’s Rachel Corden said: “Hosting the 2019 Greyhound Derby is a massive commitment to the sport by Nottingham and it’s sponsors, not least with a winner’s purse of £100,000 on offer, and I hope that the industry will get behind us to ensure a well-supported, fantastic competition.”