British horseracing group The Jockey Club has revealed plans to sell its Kempton Park racecourse to help fund a new scheme that would see the organisation reinvest £500m (€574.3m/$608.7m) back into the sport.
In a statement detailing the plans, which are yet to be approved, Kempton would be demolished to and the land sold for housing. A new, all-weather racing facility would be built, most likely in Newmarket.
However, the redevelopment hinges on a series of factors. Racing will continue at Kempton until at least 2021, and the redevelopment will only proceed if more than £100m is raised from the sale and the all-weather circuit is given the go-ahead.
Should the project gain approval, The Jockey Club would need to locate new homes for various races that currently take place at Kempton. This would include the King George VI Chase moving to Sandown Park, a venue that the organisation will also invest in as part of the development scheme.
Roger Weatherby, senior steward of The Jockey Club, said: “We must show leadership with the assets we have and, where merited, take tough decisions to help our sport to keep moving forwards.
“Our board of stewards are horsemen and, having carefully considered what we can achieve in the long-run from doing so, are unanimously of the view that British racing is better served by us doing so.”
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