Inside the battle for Nottingham - with the Jockey Club and Arc set to compete with a surprise new player

There is a chance we could lose Nottingham. There is also a chance the Jockey Club and Arena Racing Company could soon be engaged in a battle to secure control of a course that, although not one of Britain's most treasured racing venues, is still well worth having.

It feels like a timely moment to be considering the future of the track. It was almost exactly 30 years ago that Colwick Park staged its final jumps meeting, the farewell seven-race card featuring race titles that remembered great names from Nottingham's past, including Red Rum, Wayward Lad and Corbiere. 

There was also a juvenile hurdle named in honour of Royal Gait, who on his way to claiming the 1992 Champion Hurdle landed the City Trial Hurdle. The very next race, the Grade 2 Nottinghamshire Novices' Chase, went to future Champion Chase winner Deep Sensation, offering proof that Nottingham did once have its annual day in the sun. When jumping went, so did most of the sunshine.