Arena Racing Company

Northern Racing
Private
Industry Leisure, Horse racing
Predecessor Arena Leisure, Northern Racing
Founded 2012
Headquarters United Kingdom
Key people
 David Thorpe (Chairman)
Owner David and Simon Reuben via Reuben Brothers
Website arenaracingcompany.co.uk

Arena Racing Company, also called ARC Racing and Leisure Group is a UK private company, created in 2012 by the merger of Arena Leisure and Northern Racing.[1] It owns and operates 15 racecourses in Great Britain, accounting for 39% of British racing fixtures.[2] It also operates hotels at Wolverhampton Racecourse and Lingfield Park Racecourse and golf courses at Lingfield, Southwell and Newcastle.[2]

ARC will pay prize money of £28 million across 512 fixtures in 2016.[3]

Personnel

The Chief Executive Officer Is Martin Cruddace who was formerly the Chief Legal Officer for Betfair.[4] Cruddace is a member of the Racehorse Owners Association with a share in several racehorses, including a share in the Martin Pipe trained Big Occasion who won the Midlands National at Uttoxeter Racecourse in 2013.

David Thorpe was appointed Chairman in April 2014. He was previously Chairman of Arena Leisure plc, as well as the Racecourse Association Ltd.

Racecourses

Arena Racing Company operates fifteen racecourses in Great Britain.

Television Coverage

On the 1 September 2016, seven independent racecourse (Fakenham, Ffos Las, Hexham, Newton Abbot, Plumpton, Ripon and Towcester) lead by ARC (Arena Racing Company) and started a television service known as The Racing Partnership (“TRP”). Racing from the six Arena courses including Doncaster, Southwell, Lingfield Park and Wolverhampton became available on TRP from 1 January 2017 with all other ARC and independent racecourses being added to the schedule over the following year. This service is a competitor to Sports Information Services (SIS) who since 1987 has been providing racecourse coverage into the LBO's.

Since the launch of the service a number of leading high street bookmakers have chosen not to take the TRP service, and instead provide their own 'off tube' commentary. http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/ladbrokes-ordered-to-shut-arc-racecourse-shops-in-pictures-row/2234762/#newsArchiveTabs=last7DaysNews

All-Weather Championships

As operators of three of the five All-Weather Racecourses in Britain, ARC were central to the launch of the All-Weather Championships in 2013. The All-Weather Championships run throughout October and climax on Good Friday at Lingfield Park Racecourse. The All-Weather Championships are sponsored by bookmakers, Coral, Ladbrokes, Unibet and 32Red.

The racecourses involved in the All-Weather Championships are Chelmsford City, Kempton Park, Lingfield Park, Southwell and Wolverhampton in Great Britain as well as Dundalk in Ireland and Cagnes-sur-Mer and Deauville in France.

The All-Weather Championships are contested over seven categories:

Finals Day is the richest All-Weather Raceday in Europe with over £1million in prize money on offer.

To qualify to run on Finals Day, horses must run either a minimum of three times on the All-Weather surfaces in Great Britain, Ireland or France during the Qualifying period and carry an Official BHA Rating high enough to enter or win a Fast Track Qualifier, which will guarantee free entry.

References

  1. ↑ Brooks, Charlie (25 November 2012). "The shadow behind the British Horseracing Authority's good news on prize money". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Arena Leisure Company". Arena Leisure Company. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Arena Racing Company". www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  4. ↑ "Arena Racing Company". www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
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