Tuesday marked a sad day for racing as Towcester Racecourse closed it doors for good after an agreement was made with Arena Racing Company to sell their remaining 10 meetings for an unknown sum of money.
While the course could still play host to greyhound racing, with an on going discussion taking place on whether this could be possible there has also been negotiations into the track hosting point to point fixtures which would not mask the sadness of the closure but would still be better than nothing.
Back in August 2018 Towcester went into administration due to trading difficulties and from there have never been able to salvage anything, being sold to Fermor Land LLP.
Since then the courses fixtures have been rescheduled elsewhere as the hunt went on to find new people to take over ownership of the track with both Arena Racing Company and the Jockey Club giving it some thought but never going through with it.
(Credit Racing Post) A statement from Arc said: "Arena Racing Company can confirm that, following the closure of Towcester racecourse, Arc has purchased the unencumbered freehold of the ten fixtures that remained within the ownership of Fermor Land LLP.
"The transfer of these fixtures from Fermor Land LLP to Arc has been approved by BHA, with two to still be staged in 2019. The host venues for the fixtures on Thursday, November 28 and Thursday, December 19 will be confirmed shortly, with the location of the ten fixtures scheduled in 2020 to also be confirmed in due course."
The BHA have had a big part to play with the smooth transition of fixtures going to Arc with there being a potential stumbling block in the process with Fermor Land not holding a licence from the governing body.
(Credit Racing Post) Harry Westropp of Fermor Land, said in a statement: "The partners of Fermor Land LLP would like to thank the BHA, Arc and the RCA [Racecourse Association] for their co-operation with the sale of ten Towcester legacy fixtures.
"I have no doubt that the fixtures will prove a great addition to Arc venues to sustain the sport moving forward.
"Fermor Land looks to the future with enthusiasm and hopes in due course to make further announcements regarding the resumption of greyhound racing as well as possible point-to-point fixtures."