Kempton Park is one of London’s closest racecourses.

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KEMPTON Park appear to have been given a reprieve from planned closure in 2021 following news of a reduced house-building programme that will allow racing to continue.

In January 2017 the Jockey Club announced plans to close the racecourse and use the land for housing with proceeds invested at other tracks in the Jockey Club’s portfolio.

Earlier this week it was reported the Jockey Club have put forward an alternative option that will allow horse racing to continue at the Surrey venue which stages all-weather and national hunt racing, highlighted by the valuable Ladbrokes King George VI Chase on Boxing Day.

Sandy Dudgeon, senior steward of the Jockey Club, said: “Having weighed up the latest information, we’ve now put forward another option alongside the original full site for their [Spelthorne Borough Council] consideration. This would involve just a proportion of the available land there and allow jump and all-weather racing to continue.

“A healthy, sustainable and well-funded sport for the long term can only be achieved by investing in our sport. The need for British racing to raise significant funding to enable this is perhaps even more vital now than when our original proposals were announced.”

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