Hereford to Reopen with Four Fixtures This Year

21 January 2016 – Racing Post

British racing is receiving a huge boost with the news Hereford racecourse is to fully reopen on October 6. Racing will resume at a track that has played host to winners of the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle in its 245-year history. Hereford was controversially closed in 2012 by the then Arena Leisure and Northern Racing, who deemed it unviable after a dispute with Herefordshire Council over the lease.

Action has since been restricted to Arab racing and point-to-pointing but jumping under Rules will resume on October 6 with a card transferred from Worcester by the now Arena Racing Company. Further meetings will follow on October 31 (switched from Southwell), November 23 (Fontwell) and December 19 (Lingfield).

Hereford will take part in the BHA’s fixture allocation process for 2017 and the course’s aim is to stage around a dozen cards annually, in the core jumps season between October and April.

Supporting grassroots

Arc chief executive Martin Cruddace said: “We are delighted to be reopening Hereford racecourse, which has long been popular with racing fans. We hope this will be seen as a positive development for both the local community and British racing as a whole. Today’s announcement confirms our long term commitment to grassroots jump racing in Great Britain. I would like to thank Herefordshire Council and the BHA for their ongoing assistance and we are grateful for the help and support we continue to receive from both organisations. We look forward to welcoming owners, trainers, jockeys, stable staff and racing fans back to Hereford racecourse in October to enjoy jump racing.”