Arena Racing Company

Last updated

Arena Racing Company
Company type Private
Industry Leisure, horse racing
Predecessor Arena Leisure, Northern Racing
Founded2012
Headquarters
Millbank Tower, London, 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 16 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] Following the purchase of Nottingham Greyhound Stadium in 2020 the company became the leading greyhound racing operator in the UK. [3] In November 2022, it was announced Arena Racing Company had acquired the Athens-headquartered omni-channel content distributor, Vermantia. [4]

Contents

Personnel

The chief executive officer is Martin Cruddace who was formerly the chief legal officer for Betfair. [5] Cruddace is a member of the Racehorse Owners Association.

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

Arena Racing came under fire following an investigative report published by The Times in which current and former employees raised concerns about working and safety conditions. [6]

Racecourses

Arena Racing Company operates sixteen racecourses in Great Britain:

After the purchase of Ffos Las in May 2018, ARC also expressed interest in acquiring Towcester racecourse and greyhound track. [7]

In August 2018, owners of Arena Racing, David and Simon Rubens, announced plans for a multi-million-pound redevelopment of Newcastle Racecourse and High Gosforth Park. Changes might include a new events centre at Newcastle and a residential development at High Gosforth Park. [8]

Greyhound Tracks

In May 2017 ARC acquired both Sunderland Greyhound Stadium and Newcastle Greyhound Stadium from William Hill [9] followed by the lease purchases of Belle Vue and Perry Barr Stadiums in October 2019 from GRA Acquisition. [10] [11] [12] [13] In 2020 Arc bought Nottingham Greyhound Stadium from Nottingham Greyhound Stadium Ltd. [3]

Television Coverage

On the 1 September 2016, seven independent racecourse (Fakenham, Ffos Las, Hexham, Newton Abbot, Plumpton, Ripon and Towcester) led by ARC (Arena Racing Company) 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 SIS (Sports Information Services) who since 1987 has been providing racecourse coverage into the LBO's.

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 Betway.

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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lingfield Park Racecourse</span> Horse racing venue in England

Lingfield Park Racecourse is a horse racing course at Lingfield in Surrey, United Kingdom. It is owned by the ARC Racing and Leisure Group, formerly Arena Leisure Plc.

Sky Sports Racing is a British pay television channel devoted primarily to horse racing. A joint venture between Sky Group and Arena Racing Company, it broadcasts coverage of domestic, European and international horse racing events. The channel also broadcasts some greyhound racing.

Sports Information Services (SIS) is a company which provides content and production services to the betting industry; such as horse racing and greyhound racing, to betting shops in the United Kingdom and Ireland and other worldwide destinations. Previously, they provided news gathering services and specialised broadcast solutions to clients beyond betting industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belle Vue Stadium</span> Greyhound racing track in Manchester, England

Belle Vue Stadium was a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedway, as the home ground of Elite League team Belle Vue Aces from 1988 until 2015, and from 1999 until 2019 for stock car racing and banger racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greyhound Racing Association</span>

The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably greyhound racing stadia. The GRA was responsible for introducing Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and was the largest racing operator for 70 years but diminished when trading as GRA Acquisition from 2005-2019. Despite its name, it was not involved in the administration of greyhound racing itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry Barr Stadium</span> British greyhound racing stadium

Perry Barr Stadium (also known as Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium and previously as Alexander Sports Ground(s)) is a greyhound racing and motorcycle speedway stadium on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England. The track is operated by the Arena Racing Company (ARC), who lease it from owners the National Asset Management Agency. Racing takes place every Saturday evening, in addition to their four ARC fixtures.

Arena Leisure plc was a Public Company based in London, England, which existed as an independent entity until 2012 when it was merged with Northern Racing to form the Arena Racing Company. The company operated seven of the UK's horse racing courses - at the time, a 23% share of the UK horse racing market - as well as other leisure industry interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottingham Greyhound Stadium</span> Greyhound racing venue in England

Nottingham Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track and stadium on the outskirts of Nottingham, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle Stadium</span> Greyhound racing venue in England

Newcastle Stadium is a greyhound racing and former motorcycle speedway stadium, located on The Fossway, Byker, Newcastle. Racing at the stadium takes place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The circumference of the track is 415 metres. Until mid-2022, speedway racing took place from March to October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oaks (English greyhound race)</span> British greyhound racing competition

The Oaks is an original classic greyhound competition, held at Perry Barr Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmore Green Stadium</span> British greyhound racing venue

Monmore Green Stadium is a greyhound racing and former motorcycle speedway stadium located in Wolverhampton. The stadium has private suites, a restaurant and a number of bars. The venue is owned and operated by the Ladbrokes Coral group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurels (English greyhound race)</span> British greyhound racing competition

The Laurels is an original classic greyhound competition held at Perry Barr Stadium. It was run at Wimbledon Stadium from 1930 until 1997. It then moved to Belle Vue Stadium in 1998 and remained there until 2017 when it switched to Newcastle Stadium. After two years at Newcastle and a cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19 it switched to Perry Barr in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scurry Gold Cup</span> British greyhound racing competition

The Scurry Gold Cup is an original classic greyhound racing competition currently run at Perry Barr Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Towcester Greyhound Stadium</span> Greyhound racing venue in England

Towcester Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located within Towcester Racecourse at Towcester in Northamptonshire, England. It has been the home of the English Greyhound Derby since 2021, having previously hosted the event from 2017 to 2018.

The Northern Flat is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Newcastle Stadium. The event was switched to Newcastle in 2021 following the closure of Belle Vue Stadium where it had been held from 1927 until 2018.

The 2017 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 92nd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The 2014 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 89th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The 2019 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year is the 94th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The year marked an end of an era when the 94-year-old company the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) or more recently the GRA Acquisition came to an end.

The 2020 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year is the 95th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The 2021 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 96th year of greyhound racing in the Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Greyhound racing in Ireland.

References

  1. ↑ Brooks, Charlie (25 November 2012). "The shadow behind the British Horseracing Authority's good news on prize money". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Arena Leisure Company". Arena Leisure Company. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  3. 1 2 "PRESS RELEASE – ARC CONFIRMS ACQUISITION OF NOTTINGHAM GREYHOUND STADIUM". Greyhound Star. 21 February 2020.
  4. ↑ Fletcher, Robert (22 November 2022). "Arena Racing Company finalises acquisition of Vermantia". iGB. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "Arena Racing Company". www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Writer, Mark Souster, Racing (23 November 2017). "Times investigation: Stalls handlers' fears over safety". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 20 September 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Writer, Mark Souster, Racing (17 August 2018). "ARC in market for stricken Towcester". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 20 September 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "Expansion plans for Newcastle Racecourse". BBC News. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "ARC ANNOUNCE ACQUISITION OF NEWCASTLE AND SUNDERLAND GREYHOUND STADIUMS FROM WILLIAM HILL PLC". Arena Racing. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "ARC Acquire Perry Barr And Belle Vue Greyhound Stadia". Arena Racing Company. 17 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "Expired £49m loan unleashes doubts over dog-race group". The Daily Telegraph.
  12. ↑ "ARC SECURE BELLE VUE AND PERRY BARR FROM FELTHAM". Greyhound Star. 17 October 2019.
  13. ↑ "BELLE VUE/PERRY BARR ACQUISITION – GBGB STATEMENT". Greyhound Star. 17 October 2019.
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