The 8 and 15 October evening fixtures move to Southwell, six months after the licence expired. The racecourse's own site still lists eight racedays.

Two more Chelmsford race meetings have been taken away from the city and given to a course in Nottinghamshire.

The British Horseracing Authority confirmed on 10 September that the fixtures scheduled for the evenings of 8 October and 15 October have been transferred to Southwell. Its statement says the meetings “will remain on the same date”, just not at the same racecourse (British Horseracing Authority).

It is the fourth such announcement since the start of July. Between them, those four have taken nine Chelmsford fixtures to other courses and cancelled a tenth outright, and more were moved in the spring before them.

Why racing stopped

The cause is not the weather or the track. It is a licence.

Great Leighs Estates Limited, which ran the raceday operation at the course on Moulsham Hall Lane, entered administration on 25 March 2026. Kirstie Jane Provan and Mark Robert Fry of BTG Begbies Traynor (London) LLP were appointed, and the London Gazette notice records the company’s business as “event catering activities and activities of racehorse owners” (London Gazette).

The last meeting was held the following day. The racing licence expired on 31 March, and no operator has held one since. The BHA board rejected an application from Golden Mile Racing Limited on 2 April, and the independent Licensing Committee dismissed that company’s appeal in June (British Horseracing Authority).

The racecourse says so itself. A banner across its own fixtures page reads: “Chelmsford City Racecourse remains without a licensed racing operator at the venue. This means racing at Chelmsford is currently unable to resume” (Chelmsford City Racecourse).

Six months without racing at Chelmsford City Racecourse, March to September 2026 Timeline of 2026. 25 March, Great Leighs Estates Ltd enters administration. 26 March, the last race meeting is held. 31 March, the racing licence expires. 2 April, the BHA board rejects Golden Mile Racing Limited’s licence application. June, the Licensing Committee dismisses the appeal. 24 July, Arena Racing Company agrees exclusive terms. 18 August, the 17 and 24 September fixtures are moved to Southwell. 10 September, the 8 and 15 October fixtures are moved to Southwell. 22 September, there is still no licensed operator. Six months without a licensed operator at Chelmsford City Racecourse All dates 2026. The course has not staged a race meeting since 26 March. 25 March Great Leighs Estates Ltd enters administration 26 March Last race meeting held at the course 31 March The racing licence expires 2 April BHA board rejects Golden Mile Racing's licence bid June Licensing Committee dismisses the appeal 24 July Arena Racing Company agrees exclusive terms 18 August 17 and 24 September fixtures moved to Southwell 10 September 8 and 15 October fixtures moved to Southwell 22 September Still no licensed operator. Six months without racing Sources: London Gazette notice 5095118; British Horseracing Authority press releases of 8 July, 18 August and 10 September 2026; Chelmsford City Racecourse. Graphic by The Chelmsford Times
The licence expired on 31 March. The course has now gone almost six months without one.

Two months on from the Arc agreement, still nothing signed

On 24 July, Arena Racing Company announced that it had agreed terms with Chelmsford City Racecourse Ltd and Moulsham Hall Estates Ltd. Read the wording closely and it is a step towards a deal rather than a deal: the parties “will now enter a period of exclusivity in order to enter into a long term, legally binding, agreement”. Arc’s chief executive Martin Cruddace said racing at Chelmsford “is hugely important to the fixture list” (Arena Racing Company).

An exclusivity period is not a signed agreement, and a signed agreement is not a licence. Two months on, Arc has published nothing further about Chelmsford. Its most recent releases, on 15 and 17 September, are about Doncaster (Arena Racing Company).

There is an irony in the fixture list. Arc runs Southwell and Lingfield, and those two courses have taken eight of the nine Chelmsford fixtures moved since July.

We could find no new insolvency notice for Great Leighs Estates since the two published on 30 March (London Gazette).

The racecourse website still lists eight racedays

Here is the part that matters if you were thinking of going.

The racecourse’s own events page still lists eight race meetings between now and Christmas, including both of the fixtures the BHA has just moved to Southwell (Chelmsford City Racecourse):

  • Thursday 8 October, “Thursday Nights”
  • Thursday 15 October, “Thursday Nights”
  • Monday 2 November, listed as “Thursday Nights”
  • Thursday 5 November, “Thursday Nights”
  • Thursday 26 November, Christmas Raceday
  • Thursday 3 December, Christmas Raceday
  • Thursday 10 December, Christmas Raceday
  • Thursday 17 December, Christmas Raceday

Open the 8 October page and it still gives gates open at 3pm, first race 5.30pm and last race 8.30pm. There is no booking option on it, which is consistent with the racecourse’s July statement that ticket sales are paused. But the page does not say the fixture has moved, and neither does the events list.

The July statement is also now out of date. It says bookings for fixtures and events “in August and September have been cancelled”. October is not mentioned, and October is the month the BHA has just emptied (Chelmsford City Racecourse).

The BHA has not published anything about the four Christmas racedays or the two November dates. On the record as it stands, those six meetings are still scheduled at Chelmsford and there is still no licence that would let them happen.

Refunds

The racecourse’s July statement is candid about the money, and it is the only first-party account of it we can find.

It says affected customers are contacted by email with refund details, that ticket sales are paused for all other events, and that “this unprecedented situation has removed the racecourse’s primary source of revenue while we process a very large number of refunds”. It adds that while “a significant proportion have been completed, not all have been processed as quickly as we would like”.

That statement carries no publication date and has not been updated since.

What it means for you

  • If you hold tickets for 8 or 15 October, the racing is happening at Southwell in Nottinghamshire, not in Essex. Your Chelmsford booking is a matter for the racecourse, not the BHA. The number on its own site is 01245 360300.
  • If you are booking a Christmas raceday, nothing on the public record says those meetings can go ahead. Ask before you pay, and ask what happens to your money if the fixture moves.
  • If you are waiting on a refund, the racecourse has acknowledged delays in writing. Keep the email trail.
  • The venue itself is still open. The July statement says it continues to host corporate and private events, and the events list includes non-racing nights such as Dance Through The Decades on 17 October and the Illuminate Christmas parties in December.

Every fact here comes from a published record, because that is all there is at present: the BHA states the transfers, the Gazette states the administration, and the racecourse states its own position. The next move will appear in the BHA press releases first, and we check them on every visit.

Sources

More on Chelmsford