There’s a lot of talk around Kempton racecourse at the moment. We’ve seen it all before, but it just feels a little different this time, especially with investment in other courses, particularly Aintree.
Home of the King George, in 2019, we first heard about the possibility of Kempton Racecourse being sold on. Prime location for building houses, there was a lot of talk about a multi million sale, which would of course have really given the finances at the Jockey Club a big boost.
So, is a sale likely, and more importantly, what will it include? I think there’s going to be even more talk as we head into 2026, but to sum it up, the chances of a sale, even if it’s a part sale, look stronger than ever before.
Of the remaining big races in 2025, the King George is all we have left, but will it be the last time we see the race hosted by Kempton?
Kempton Sale Agreement Reignites Speculation
Initial reports about the sale of Kempton date all the way back to 2017. At the time, it was announced that Kempton would close and be sold to the development company Redrow.
However, the Jockey Club faced a lot of backlash from people in racing, and eventually, the pressure was enough to force a change of heart, and the sale fell through.
But just a year after that, we learnt that the Jockey Club had a deal in place with Redrow for future development of the land, so they’d got priority over anyone else, and could, if they wanted to, activate a sale in the future.
This agreement has been spoken about a lot recently, because it is still active, and that runs all the way through until 2028, so there’s still plenty of time for things to move forward with that.
So, we have prime building land, which has been subject to a sale before. That company has an agreement that allows them to reactivate the purchase if they want to, with over two years left on it. And finally, we also have the Jockey Club, which is investing heavily in other racecourses but not at Kempton, and may need to raise funds.
It all appears to be heading one way, and one way only.
Partial Sale Could See Flat Racing Remain, but Jumps Leave
But is there an even stranger twist that could come from all of this, which has recently been raised?
Could a partial sale of Kempton racecourse mean that the land where the jumps track is, becomes renovated as part of a sale, but the all weather track and facilities remain in place, and all weather racing continues?
A month ago, I would have said it was all or nothing, but now, I actually think this is the most likely outcome.
Why do I say this? Well, I think the talk from the Jockey Club is quite telling, perhaps not what they’re saying, but instead, what they’re not saying.
Investment in the Derby is their number one priority. Second up is investment in Cheltenham and Aintree. Go back a couple of years, they created a Boxing Day meeting at Aintree, and gave it a Grade One contest, the former Tolworth Hurdle.
Do they want to really go all out and have the best racing over Christmas in one place? Because a move for the King George to Aintree would undoubtedly give them that.
Away from the Christmas meeting, there’s not too much that would need moving around from Kempton over jumps, which is why this potential split makes even more sense. Moving all-weather racing would need a lot of planning, including from non-Jockey Club courses.
I don’t want Kempton to close, but for the first time, I see a plan that makes sense, and would go a long way to helping the Jockey Club with their investment plan for other racecourses.
It may take time, and it may face stronger opposition than what I’m giving it, but I don’t think it’s far-fetched to say that this could be the last time we see the King George at Kempton Park.
