Turf war rocks racing as Queen’s friend slams Jockey Club
Big names square up over plan to sell famous course
OPEN warfare has erupted in the highest echelons of the racing community, with financier and legendary horse owner and breeder Sir Evelyn de Rothschild delivering a truly astonishing rebuke to the Jockey Club for trying to sell one of Britain’s bestknown courses.
The friend of the Queen has hit out at the prestigious club’s controversial plans to offload Kempton Park in Surrey so that 3,000 homes can be built on the site.
Sir Evelyn is the first Jockey Club member to break ranks and speak out against the proposed sale, announced earlier this month.
He ran Kempton Park, Sandown Park and Epsom racecourses for 20 years. And having once helped to develop Milton Keynes, Sir Evelyn is well qualified in the world of housebuilding too.
‘I have felt rather upset I was not consulted and read about the proposal in the press,’ he tells me.
‘It is not only a potential tragedy for British racing, it is also completely unnecessary. I care about the Green Belt and the need to preserve such a multi-purpose site.
‘It is the task of those who love racing and the green space it provides to put their shoulders to the wheel. To allow this completely avoidable act of cultural vandalism to proceed would be a grave dereliction of duty.’
Sir Evelyn is anxious to safeguard horseracing at the historic, 139-year-old course, which is cherished for the King George VI Chase, a Boxing Day fixture attracting crowds of 20,000.
‘Kempton is in use only 27 days a year and already turns a profit,’ he adds. ‘Consider how much more successful it could be if it became a hub for outdoor concerts or any number of other lucrative events.’
More than 3,000 opponents have signed up to a Save Kempton Park Facebook campaign and protests are being planned at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. No plan- ning permission has been sought for the proposed development, which is not due to start until 2021.
A Jockey Club spokesman told me: ‘We have strong support from our members and our board of stewards are very confident these proposals would deliver major benefits that will help our sport for years to come.’