No racing at Towcester until at least October as BHA removes upcoming fixtures

There will be no racing at Towcester until October 9 at the earliest, the BHA revealed on Thursday, as plans for the beleaguered track continued to be surrounded by uncertainty.

Towcester plunged into administration in August last year after reporting "significant financial difficulties" and no racing has been able to take place at the track since.

Nine fixtures have been lost at the course since its closure with seven transferred to other tracks and two cancelled. The meeting scheduled for April 26 will be replaced by an additional card at Bangor on the same day.

Towcester had been in line to potentially host two fixtures in May, one on May 13 and another a week later on May 20, but neither will take place at the course and are due to be transferred elsewhere.

Richard Wayman: has reallocated all of Towcester's fixtures up to the end of MayCredit: George Selwyn

Richard Wayman, BHA chief operating officer, said: "Towcester’s owners have been advised that all fixtures up to the end of May will be reallocated by the BHA as has been the case for their scheduled fixtures so far this year. Therefore, the earliest racing could return to Towcester is October 9. In order for racing to return at that stage, Towcester would need to have a racecourse licence in place.

"The racecourse would need to formally submit a proposal for a licence to the BHA detailing how they would operate. This would require due consideration and ultimately approval by the BHA board. The BHA has not yet received such an application."

The assets required for racing to take place at Towcester were sold to Fermor Land LLP, a company linked to course chairman Lord Hesketh, in November last year. The company has failed to respond to repeated requests for comment by the Racing Post.

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