Wednesday 3rd June 2009, for immediate release

Paul Struthers, Media Relations Manager for the British Horseracing Authority, said:

“The reasons for the decision to reject the recent licence application from Great Leighs Racecourse Limited are private between us, the applicant and the Administrator. Applicants need to be able to present information of a commercially sensitive nature to us in the full knowledge that we will not disclose the same.

“We will respect the confidentiality that this process demands however we wish to make clear that we refute much of what has been said about the process in the last few days. The Applicant and the Administrator have been provided with our reasons and, even prior to the decision taken, all parties were well aware of what was required.

“There are significant matters that have to be addressed, which were identified and communicated at the end of 2008 and early 2009 when the application for a licence by the company now in Administration was rejected. These significant matters continue to apply and any application will need to deal with all matters set out in the application licence form.

“We will consider any application in relation to staging fixtures at Great Leighs that is accompanied by the relevant agreements and supporting documentation. Any application needs to establish how, when, and by whom matters are to be dealt with, as part of a plan, together with supporting agreements and financial arrangements.

“We have and will continue to provide support and assistance to the Administrators to enable them to understand the process, but ultimately we need to be satisfied of the various matters necessary to operate a racecourse in accordance with the Rules of Racing.”