Towcester saga continues with unnamed track set to host November fixture

Towcester's next scheduled fixture on November 29 will not be able to take place at the troubled Northamptonshire track, but there is optimism it will be able to stage racing again this year.

The future of the course and its greyhound track was plunged into uncertainty after the owners revealed in August they were placing the business into administration, saying that Towcester Racecourse Company Limited was "experiencing trading difficulties".

The first of its three horseracing fixtures this campaign were unable to take place but there were hopes a deal could be agreed in time for next month's meeting.

Administrators KPMG have been working closely with interested parties and industry stakeholders but revealed on Friday a deal was not imminent enough for the November 29 fixture to be staged at Towcester.

Gareth Shaw, senior manager of the auditing firm, said: "The meeting in November will be run at a different course, which the BHA will disclose soon."

Greyhound racing at Towcester was also put on ice indefinitely in August and redundancies followed, with 134 staff members losing their jobs.

BHA to decide fate of Towcester fixtures as 134 staff are made redundant

The next scheduled horseracing fixture beyond November is on December 20, and Shaw expects a buyer to seal a deal in the next couple of weeks to enable that pre-Christmas meeting to go ahead.

"The issue should be resolved by then, but not quite in time for the November meeting," he said.

"I expect Towcester to host racing in the near future as long as everything goes to plan."

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