Britain's first new racecourse for 60 years is odds-on to showcase top-flight racing.
It has been announced that Great Leighs racecourse will be given preferential treatment by the British Horseracing Board (BHB) for its first nine years of operation.
Great Leighs will be guaranteed at least 16 BHB 'national' status fixtures in its first year - due to be 2006 - through to 2014, in a bid to establish the site as a nationally-recognised racecorse.
After that date it will be treated as an established racecourse.
It will then have to bid against existing racecourses for the several hundred new fixtures that are being created from 2006.
The site, currently being developed on the former Essex showground, is scheduled to become Britain's first new racecourse since 1927.
The planned one-mile oval racing circuit could enable Great Leighs to stage trials for the world's richest races.
Greg Nichols, BHB chief executive, said: "We look forward to its world-class track design and facilities, adding further diversity and reaping commercial reward when, as is planned, it becomes operational in January 2006."
Published Tuesday June 15, 2004
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