Justin Timberlake’s walk-on part back in spotlight as Chelmsford faces closure fears

The oft-troubled history of Chelmsford City racecourse in Essex took its latest turn for the worse on Wednesday when the track lost its licence to host fixtures. This means the cancellation of scheduled meetings including the lucrative Good Friday fixture and putting the long-term future of the venue in serious doubt.

There have been enough twists in the Chelmsford saga that Justin Timberlake’s apparent walk-on part in the latest chapter is just one more to add to the list. The singer’s concert at the track on 4 July 2025 led to chaotic scenes when 25,000 fans left afterwards, forcing some to queue for up to four hours and others to abandon their cars and walk along the nearby A131 dual carriageway.

A legal action arising from the concert was settled out of court, but the crowd capacity for gigs was lowered and the track’s operator, Great Leighs Estates Limited, went into administration on Monday. A new company, Golden Mile Racing Limited (GMRL), applied to take over the licence to stage racing for the remainder the year.

The British Horseracing Authority said on Wednesday it “did not consider it appropriate” to grant a racing licence to GMRL and that as a result “GMRL is not licensed to stage any fixtures, pending the outcome of any appeal”. The BHA added: “This means that regrettably no further fixtures will be staged [at Chelmsford City] pending the outcome of any appeal process. This includes the fixtures on 2 April, 3 April and 9 April.”

The scheduled card at the course on Good Friday is – or was – one of the most valuable at the course all year, with £250,000 in prize money.

John Holmes, a local entrepreneur, first revealed his plan to build a racecourse on the site of the former Essex County Showground near the village of Great Leighs in 2001. Initial hopes were that it would open – as the first new racecourse in Britain for more than 80 years – in 2006, but it was not until 28 May 2008 that Great Leighs staged its first meeting with paid attendance.

The customer experience for the first racegoers through the gates was effectively a half-built racecourse in a muddy field. The two-tier marquee that served as a grandstand in the middle of the track had enjoyed a previous life as a temporary hospitality facility at the K Club’s Ryder Cup and made it all but impossible to follow the action live.

After its inauspicious opening, the track staggered on until January 2009, when it was placed into administration. Six years passed before Chelmsford City emerged from the ashes of Great Leighs, with a permanent grandstand and new majority ownership, although Holmes remained a regular presence at the track and his son, Nathan, is Chelmsford City’s commercial director.

While racegoers have often had issues with the facilities at Chelmsford, trainers and jockeys have been hugely supportive since its opening day. The US-style oval mile is a fair, galloping track with wide bends and its location, about an hour away from Newmarket, is also ideal.

Wednesday’s news will be a setback for many top yards readying horses for the new summer Flat season, while the permanent loss of Chelmsford, which staged 38 meetings last year, would leave a significant hole in the schedule.