The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has confirmed the reallocation of 16 fixtures previously run at Chelmsford City Racecourse, dividing them between Jockey Club Racecourses and Arena Racing Company (Arc). The BHA Board announced the decision on 13 October 2026. It follows the entry into administration earlier this year of Great Leighs Estates Ltd (GLEL), the company that operated the course.

Of the 16 fixtures, 12 had been allocated to the racecourse since it reopened in 2015. According to the BHA’s announcement, the administrators have been able to sell those original 12, and the Board is confirming their allocation to Jockey Club Racecourses. A further four were granted by the BHA Board in 2025. Under their original terms and conditions those four were returned to the BHA, which has allocated them to Arc to take place at Chelmsford, following the approval in principle of a licence for Arc to stage racing at the course from next month.

Sold fixtures and returned fixtures

The split shows two kinds of fixture at the same course. The original 12 were an asset the administrators could sell. Neither the BHA nor Racing Post has disclosed the price paid. Racing Post reported on 13 October that the administrators ran a competitive bidding process, that the 12 fixtures join The Jockey Club’s schedule from 2027, and that Jim Mullen, The Jockey Club’s chief executive, said the priority was to work with the BHA on allocating them to Jockey Club racecourses. Which of its courses will stage them has not been announced.

The four fixtures granted in 2025 carried terms that sent them back to the regulator, which has kept them at Chelmsford under the incoming operator. The BHA says it is working with Jockey Club Racecourses and Arc to agree the placing of all 16 fixtures within the 2027 fixture list, and will publish further updates when the details are confirmed. The release contains no comment from either racecourse group.

How Chelmsford got here

Racing Post reported in July that GLEL went into administration in March 2026 owing about £30m to creditors, including £3.6m to the media rights company SIS, and that there had been no racing at the track since March. On 13 October the paper said GLEL had lost its licence to operate the track earlier in the year.

On 24 July, according to Racing Post, Arc agreed terms with the freeholders, Chelmsford City Racecourse Ltd and Moulsham Hall Estates Ltd, to run the venue, with the parties entering a period of exclusivity to reach a long-term, legally binding agreement. At that point the 12 fixtures were still in the hands of the administrators. Racing Post said that if racing returned under Arc, meetings would be likely to be shown on Sky Sports Racing rather than Racing TV, and betting shop rights would be likely to move from SIS to The Racing Partnership. The BHA’s October release does not say whether the long-term agreement with the freeholders has been completed, and no date has been given for the first meeting under Arc.

Equanine’s reading

  • The outcome shows that fixtures a course has held for years can be sold as an asset in an insolvency, while more recently granted fixtures may carry terms that return them to the BHA. Lenders and buyers valuing a racecourse will want to know which kind it holds.
  • The Jockey Club adds 12 fixtures for 2027 without yet saying where they will run. Their placement will decide which of its racecourses, and which media rights arrangements, gain the extra cards.
  • Arc restarts Chelmsford with four fixtures at a course it does not own. How quickly it can build a fuller programme there will depend on the BHA and on the agreement with the freeholders.
  • Creditors, including SIS at £3.6m according to Racing Post, will look to the proceeds of the fixture sale, but the sum has not been made public.