Chelmsford City (known as Great Leighs at the time) was developed and owned by entrepreneur John Holmes and his son, Jonathan.
[3] In March 2009, the administrators announced that the two parties that had made bids for the course had failed to demonstrate that they had sufficient financial backing.
[4] The administrators subsequently made a deal with a local businessman, Terry Chambers, to lease the course to him for 18 months, but the course was unable to obtain a racing licence and was, therefore, ineligible to bid for fixtures for 2010.
In June 2010 the administrators announced that they had given up hope of selling the business as a going concern and had started discussions with the Royal Bank of Scotland to find an alternative use for the site.
[7] In March 2011 it was reported that Andrew Tinkler, chief executive of Eddie Stobart Ltd, was in discussions with Royal Bank of Scotland about reopening the track as a racecourse.
[11] Late in 2013, it was reported[12] that a syndicate headed by Betfred's proprietor, Fred Done, had bought the track and was, as 'Chelmsford City Racecourse', to seek BHA approval for 2015 fixtures.
In January 2017 Chelmsford City announced plans to build a casino and develop a new turf course inside the existing all-weather track.
In addition to these Listed races, the Cardinal Stakes over a distance of 1 mile and open to three-year-old horses is a feature.