THE threat of Musselburgh racecourse having its racing licence revoked may not be resolved for at least another month.
A meeting of the Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee (MJRC) last week, the first since September, failed to make any substantial progress relating to the issues that have caused the track to be operating on a temporary licence from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) due concerns over Musselburgh's governance.
This is the second consecutive three-month licence issued by the BHA and is due to expire on June 30th. However, it is unlikely that the committee can meet again until the end of this month at the earliest.
Musselburgh is managed by the Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee (MJRC) which was established in 1994 and is made up of four East Lothian Council representatives and three from the Lothian Racing Syndicate (LRS). The MJRC dissolves when the Scottish Council elections take place on Thursday and a new committee will be formed.
However, the four members from the East Lothian Council will not be chosen any earlier than the first full Council meeting, which is scheduled for May 23rd. And only two of the current four councillors who were sitting on the MJRC – John Caldwell, the chairman, and Andrew Forrest – are standing again in the council elections. There would be no guarantee either, if re-elected to the Council, would be re-appointed to the MJRC.
At best that would give the new MJRC five weeks to provide some clear evidence that it can make progress in the areas that are the cause of concern to the BHA, such as the failure to submit business and budget plans.
If that is not achieved, Musselburgh would have to apply for another extension of their BHA licence. Bill Farnsworth, Musselburgh’s general manager, said: “This is clearly a difficult situation but we can only hope that the BHA will show understanding in the light of the local elections and the impact that will have upon when the MJRC can next meet.”
The feeling within the BHA is that there is no appetite to revoke the course’s licence, which would mean that it could not hold race meetings, but its patience cannot be taken for granted.
Winners can never be taken for granted but Minding, last year’s 1000 Guineas and Oaks winner, got her season off to a good start when she won the Group Two Mooresbridge Stakes at Naas yesterday.
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