Great Leighs is closed after losing its licence

Britain's newest racecourse at Great Leighs has been closed after the British Horseracing Authority revoked its licence to race.

The track, just north of Chelmsford in Essex, held an evening meeting yesterday under a temporary licence which ran out at midnight last night, but the BHA have refused to issue another temporary licence for reasons that are unclear.

John Holmes, the owner of the course, said: "We successfully ran four fixtures this month under a temporary licence but the process has taken longer than we hoped.

"We applied for an extension to cover the next two fixtures [22 and 29 January] but were told we had not supplied enough information. Because of the timing for entries, we have lost next Thursday's fixture.

"We are back at the BHA on Monday with a view to resuming racing from 29 January."

Holmes appeared at a BHA regulatory committee hearing yesterday where his company, Essex County Showground Group Ltd, were applying for a further temporary licence.

But a BHA statement this morning said: "The committee declined to grant a further temporary licence. The effect is that, unless and until a new application is made, and is successful, there is no licence in place for racing at Great Leighs."