Another blow for SIS as RaceTech gets Chelmsford contract

SIS has received another blow as it was revealed the company is to lose its contract to provide outside broadcast and integrity services to Chelmsford City racecourse.

RaceTech, which has provided starting stalls services at the venue since it reopened in 2015, is to take over from SIS from October 1.

It is the latest piece of bad news to hit SIS in recent weeks after Arena Racing Company bought Newcastle and Sunderland greyhound tracks from under its noses last month.

Chelmsford City has chosen to go with RaceTech despite the course's owner Fred Done having a 7.5 per cent personal shareholding in SIS and a further six per cent through the Tote.

Chelmsford City chairman Joe Scanlon said: "CCR is an ambitious racetrack and expects its race programme to continue to grow over the next few years, with multiple codes being embraced.

"SIS, the current provider, has done a tremendous job in our initial years, however it was always CCR’s plan to take control of its broadcast solution, as we look forward to a more diverse programme, and the growing stature of the track."

RaceTech chairman Tom Phillips hailed the deal as a "terrific opportunity" for both his company and Chelmsford City.

SIS was one of the original partners involved in resurrecting what was Great Leighs racecourse but the company sold its 25 per cent stake in Chelmsford City to Done's Tote Media Ltd in 2014. SIS has an exclusive ten-year media rights deal with Chelmsford running from 2015.

The failure of SIS to secure a deal to buy Newcastle and Sunderland greyhound tracks from William Hill led Catalyst Media Group (CMG) –which has a 20.54 per cent stake in the company – to issue a profit warning last month.

CMG said SIS's profits were expected to fall by 50 per cent this financial year due to changes in the horseracing media rights landscape.

However, it added in a trading update: "Following the potential reduction in greyhound content from the end of 2017, when certain greyhound media rights expire, initial indications from SIS are that its underlying operating results are now expected to decline by approximately 60 per cent."