Kempton Park under threat

On the subject of Newmarket AW, just where on earth are they planning on building it? Presumably it will have to link up with one or other of the courses to make use of the stands? Can't see it happening on the July course as you have the Devil's Dyke in the way and prime National Stud land on the other side. So that leaves the Rowley Mile. They could of course build the sand track at the back over the car park and extend the stands so they look out both ways - (vast expense). However that means taking a huge chunk of grass gallops which for those trainers on Racecourse side is invaluable (1m2f grass gallop which NH trainers use) And I really can't see ever getting away with building it out the front side of the Rowley Mile as those gallops are sacred. So they could build a straight AW track - mmmm? Interesting.

What interests me is the support from many of the Newmarket trainers (despite Chelmsford not far down the road) of letting Kempton be sold off for building. The self-same trainers who were so indignantly opposed to Lord Derby letting his crappy stud opposite Tescos be built on stating "historical sites should be preserved!" Well if Kempton isn't an historical site for the Racing Industry, I don't know what is!

From the sound of it, the JC haven't remotely thought this through. And if it is going to happen, why on earth aren't they ploughing this money back into those courses that could do with the funding to update them to make them more attractive to the public and so more viable businesses?
 
And how many do we beleive will be attending an AW track at Newmarket?

How many attend Chelmsford for the same fare currently?

I'd also suggest that the fact that they put a beach around the jumps course at Kempton hasn't helped, and the fact they did most of the damage when they added the AW course further damages the credibility of their intentions.
 
And presumably no reason to think that Newmarket AW will be any better. In fact if anything it's less accessible and may fare worse.
 
Aside from heritage and the fact that it's a unique test, it sets a regrettable precedent for future fundraising at the expense of race tracks.

If funding dwindles or tv rights deals flounder, somewhere else will sell.

Bigger issue then is exactly how monies raised will be utilised. Will the fat cats prosper or how exactly will the average joe racing fan benefit. Adding an extra 25k to some race at Cheltenham won't grow the sport
 
I keep hearing that JCE aren't a commercial enterprise and they are doing this for the good of the sport as justification. Well I can't see how the decision to turn Kempton to AW and then close it and sell it off 15 years later adds any credibility to the decisions they make.

If their raison d'etre is to make decisions for the good of racing then they don't feel like a very safe pair of hands.

On the other hand, if these decisions are being made by business people in the guise of a non-profit making organisation, then what they did at Kempton 15 years ago followed by this announcement, suggests they should be removed as totally incompetent.

I'd also add that two AW courses within 15 miles of Newmarket can hardly be construed as for the greater good. Surely the likes of Southwell and Wolverhampton will be impacted by fewer trainers sending their horses there, and average weekday attendances could go down from 200 to 100!
 
As said earlier, Kempton attracted 154k paying customers to 70 meetings last year with the Christmas meeting accounting for 32k. For a track at the end of a motorway close to the largest city in Western Europe that is truly pathetic. A selection of other tracks (number of meetings/total attendance/largest attendance):
Aintree - 8/188k/63k
Chester - 15/277k/25k
Epsom - 11/87k/33k
Huntingdon - 17/32k/6k
Sandown - 25/155k/15k
Wetherby - 19/63k/10k
Wincanton - 14/38k/10k
 
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archie said:
As said earlier, Kempton attracted 154k paying customers to 70 meetings last year with the Christmas meeting accounting for 32k. For a track at the end of a motorway close to the largest city in Western Europe that is truly pathetic. A selection of other tracks (number of meetings/total attendance/largest attendance):
Aintree - 8/188k/63k
Chester - 15/277k/25k
Epsom - 11/87k/33k
Huntingdon - 17/32k/6k
Sandown - 25/155k/15k
Wetherby - 19/63k/10k
Wincanton - 14/38k/10k
Click to expand...

The Kempton figures for its NH meetings are 13/65/21k
 
Grey said:
The Kempton figures for its NH meetings are 13/65/21k
Click to expand...
Without the Christmas meeting, 11/33k/6.6k. Less than half the average Sandown gate.

The 5 Aintree days outside of the National meeting average 9000 per day.
 
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Those figures are strongly affected by the good card of 27 Feb (Dovecote/Pendil/Adonis etc) being run a week later than the previous year, resulting in a drop from 14,966 in 2015 to an attendance of only 4,389 last year.
 
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The attendance figures for Kempton's jump meetings aren't much different to the years proceeding the laying of the AW track. That being so, if it were so necessary to make this move for the 'good of the sport' it should have happened 15 years ago without wasting the money they did on the AW 'upgrade'.

The bottom line is that this 'not for profit' organisation is run by businessmen who fall back into old habits and can't help themselves. Let's be clear though, the best financial transaction and the good of the sport are not necessarily the same thing.

If it was genuinely for the good of the sport there would be no sell off and they would be relaying the old turf course, rather than funding an AW course in an area that is already perfectly well catered for and, if anything, better than anywhere else already.

I don't think any of us, when trainers are saying that the course is important because of the test it provides, believe that isn't true. And I defy anyone to say the spectacle the King George has provided over the years can be replicated by moving it to Sandown. I'm not a rampant traditionalist, but I believe Racing will be poorer for this decision. I don't see one jot of advantage with this other than to the Newmarket Flat trainers who will as a result support the other AW course less than they do now They need a third racecourse do they, (four if you count Great Leighs 15 miles down the road), as well as access to the best gallops in the world? How about ripping up the July Course instead and leaving Kempton alone!

As for the Execs at JCE their interest is about having some monopoly money to play with to light up their dull existence, rather than considering what he majority of the NH racing fraternity and it's supporters think. All for the good of racing hey..........
 
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Three of the trainers (at least) around these parts, Jonjo, NTD and Kim Bailey have come out in support of the move. Last time Nicky buys them a drink :whistle:
 
More opposition as reported by Lee Mottershead in the RP

KWASI KWARTENG, the Conservative MP for the Spelthorne seat that includes Kempton Park, has been among those to voice opposition to the plan to close the track when the matter was discussed in the House of Commons on Thursday.
Laurence Robertson, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Racing and Bloodstock, said members of that organisation had been left "horrified" by the news, while Shipley MP Philip Davies called the proposal "outrageous."
Kwarteng made clear he will not be offering any support to a plan the Jockey Club believes would raise at least £100 million of a £500m racing investment, as part of which an all-weather track would be built at Newmarket.
"I think it's a great shame," said Kwarteng.
"Kempton is a great cultural and sporting venue with heritage. It's great to have a place like Kempton Park racecourse in my constituency. I'm very sceptical about this development proposal and I'm very disappointed by it."
Kwarteng added: "In the first instance they will submit the planning application to the council, which I think is likely to reject it. It could then go all the way to appeal. Who knows what would happen at that stage? I've seen these things go either way.
"The borough will have commitments to build a certain number of units as part of the local plan. My own thinking is we don't need to develop Kempton Park. There are plenty of places in the local constituency that would be able to meet the housing need. It's not as if Kempton is the last bit of land we can develop."
Council figures in opposition
Any possibility of the local authority not rejecting the proposal, which was tabled in response to the council's 'Call for Sites', seems close to non-existent after Spelthorne Borough Council leader Ian Harvey made his feelings clear in an open letter.
Harvey, who had dismissed a Redrow plan to construct 1,500 houses on Kempton last April, wrote: "I was absolutely astonished to receive a letter from Curtain & Co, agents for Redrow, on Tuesday morning, advising me they were putting forward Kempton Park for a 3,000 home development, following our 'Call for Sites'.
"Many will recall my open letter to Redrow of last April, where I made my opposition, on behalf of the residents of Sunbury and Spelthorne, very clear and the proposal then was for 1,500 houses.
"Nothing has changed except my resolve, which has doubled! I cannot understand why the Jockey Club and Redrow continue pushing this hopeless cause!"
 
JRC could end-up looking very foolish at the end of this.

Why are they proposing the sale of Kempton, to a developer who has already had a similar plan knock-backed by local authorities?

It wouldn't be racing, if it wasn't verging on farce, I suppose.
 
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