Reported in the Racing Post today is the worrying news that the future of Nottingham racecourse may be in doubt. Nottingham City Council, owners of the site, having purchased the 300-acre racecourse in 1965, have given notice that it is considering selling Colwick Park after several expressions of interest from parties they chose not to name, though Arena Racing (ARC) are thought to have had talks with Nottingham City Council.
At present, and until 2029, the racecourse is leased to Jockey Club Estates and it would be disappointing if they too did not enter an expression of interest. The site is designated Green Belt and is a flood warning area, so it is long odds against it being considered for either housing development or a business park, though with a government with a policy of build, build, build … perhaps a community of stilt-house dwellers might be given priority.
Nottingham has had a racecourse since 1690 and in 1770 Eclipse won the King’s Plate in which he walked over. He walked over, I believe, more times than he raced opponents. The present racecourse at Colwick Park was opened in 1892. Golden Miller won at the venue in 1931, a hurdle race over 2-miles. Gordon Richards began his world record of 12 consecutive winners on October 3rd 1933, with the other eleven coming at Chepstow. In 1940, the Cambridgeshire, Cheveley Park, Middle Park and Jockey Club Cup were held at Nottingham due to war-time restrictions.
On the day when the legal opening of betting shops occurred, the first featured race was at Nottingham. In July, 1965 Nottingham Racecourse Company sold the land to Nottingham City Council. In December 1971, Stan Mellor became the first National Hunt jockey to ride 1,000 winners at Nottingham. On April 1st 1974, Nottingham staged the first race to have both male and female jockeys competing in the same race. On October 29th, 1985, Lester Piggott first retired, his last winner being Full Choke. On February 15th 1992, Desert Orchid opened the new members stand/weighing room complex.
Although I deplored the ending of jumps racing at Nottingham, the last meeting was in 1996, I am sure flat trainers will be as appalled at the prospect of losing Nottingham just as much as National Hunt trainers are at the thought of losing Kempton Park, as it is considered a good course for giving 2-year-olds their debuts. Both Slip Anchor and Oh So Sharp began their rise to glory at Nottingham, for example.
As I have said many times before, racecourses offer urban areas a green oasis of fresh air, an expanse of greenery and a habitat for wildlife. What would the people of Nottingham prefer, the aforementioned or another development of tarmac and bricks?
From the heat of Riyadh, Anna Lisa Balding, wife of Andrew, son of Ian, has ripped into Lord Allen and all those selfish factions that are either delaying or attempting to scupper the independent board of governance that is the mainstay of Lord Allen’s tenure as head honcho of the B.H.A. She is right to do so and other leading lights of the sport should follow in her wake. Horse Racing must be the worst governed sport in the country, and has been since the 1960’s. (Read ‘Spoilsports’ by Tim Fitzgeorge-Parker for evidence of this claim, if you can find a copy).
What our sport needs, in addition to Lord Allen’s board of independent members, is a supremo with a lifetime’s experience of the sport, aided by a board consisting of people who have either worked they way up through the ranks, people with hands-on experience of thoroughbreds, ex-trainers, owners, breeders, and a smattering of outsiders with a wealth of experience of the world of finance, marketing, etc.
The sport needs a pro-active B.H.A., with one example the proposed or threatened sale of Nottingham racecourse – the B.H.A. should be in a position to immediately step in and assert pressure on the city council to sell to either Arc or the Jockey Club or any party that guarantees that racing will survive at Colwick Park. The sport deserves a governing body that has the last say on all matters racing-related, with no ‘stakeholders’ using their influence to stymie the decision-making process.