The Champion Hurdle will be switching from Central Park to Crayford for 2023 and the Grand National will be held at Crayford from this year, subject to agreed scheduling with GBGB.
Dave Baldwin, Head of Racing (Greyhounds) at ARC, said ‘The level of entries for hurdle competitions have been very disappointing this year resulting in us running the Springbok and Champion Hurdle with far less than the ideal field. We have therefore made the decision to concentrate on competitions with wider industry appeal, with the Silver Salver moving up to a Category One for next year and a new Category One competition, subject to GBGB ORPC approval, being introduced. Crayford has a well-established trainer base which supports hurdle racing so it makes sense that they take up the mantle. We will be taking on the Cesarewich from next year and are excited about adding that to the Central Park portfolio’.
Danny Rayment, Racing Manager at Crayford said, “We have worked hard to re-establish hurdle racing at the track over the last 18 months and are delighted to get the opportunity to host the Grand National later this year and the Champion Hurdle from 2023. Our thanks go to ARC for their flexibility in making the switch. We will be agreeing dates for this years competition with the GBGB but hope to be able to add the competition to our Winter festival this year alongside the Gold Collar and Cesarewitch. At this stage we are not planning to include the Springbok in our schedule next year but this is subject to review once we finalise our hurdle plans for 2023.”
