UK racecourse operator the Arena Racing Company (ARC) has purchased the Nottingham Greyhound Stadium, a member of the British Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) and the home of the English Greyhound Derby.The racecourse will be the fifth greyhound stadium operated by ARC. The business also owns tracks in Belle Vue in Manchester, Newcastle, Sunderland and Perry Barr in Birmingham.
The racecourse includes a 437m track and hosts 154 racing fixtures per year. In 2019, the track was chosen as the new venue for the English Greyhound Derby, the flagship event in UK greyhound racing, replacing Towcester.
“We are very pleased to bring Nottingham into the ARC group, further demonstrating our commitment to British Greyhound Racing,” ARC racing division managing director Mark Spincer said. “As the home of the Greyhound Derby and a stalwart of the BAGS broadcast service, Nottingham is a popular venue that fits incredibly well into our group.”
Nottingham Greyhound Stadium was owned by Nottingham Greyhound Stadium Ltd, a company directed by brother and sister Rachel and Nathan Corden, whose father Terry previously operated the track. Following the purchase, Rachel Corden will also become ARC Greyhound Operations Director, overseeing the business and commercial operations of the ARC’s five greyhound stadia.
“Given Rachel’s extensive experience in the greyhound racing industry, we couldn’t be happier to appoint her Greyhound Operations Director within our Racing Division” Spincer said. “I am sure that her years of experience of running Nottingham, and of British Greyhound racing in general will be of huge benefit to ARC as our commitment to the sport continues to grow.”
Spincer was appointed managing director of ARC’s racing division in January, having previously been group operations director, but also spent time as executive director of both Newcastle and Doncaster Racecourses.
Corden said she believed ARC showed a great commitment to British greyhound racing and was optimistic about the future of the sector within ARC.
“ARC is a really progressive company who are committed to British greyhound racing, so I’m delighted that they have acquired ownership of Nottingham,” Corden said. “I am really looking forward to taking up my new role as operations director for ARC’s five greyhound stadia and to working with Mark Spincer and the established teams at all ARC’s greyhound stadia.
“Nottingham stadium has been in my family for many decades and we have always been brilliantly served by a wonderful team of staff, trainers, owners and sponsors. I would like to give huge thanks to the whole team at Nottingham for their loyalty and excellent work over the many years and I look forward to continuing to work with them all moving forward.”
Last week, ARC also appointed Bradley Hunt as chief finance officer and Alex Slade as general counsel, both new roles at ARC. Hunt is currently finance director at loyalty and customer engagement business the Collinson Group. Slade will join ARC from Eleven Sports Network where he is currently head of legal.
“The appointments of Bradley and Alex represent a significant step forward for ARC as an organisation, as we position ourselves for sustainable, long term growth,” ARC chief executive Martin Cruddace said. “They will both bring significant strengths and experience to our senior management team, which will be of huge benefit across all areas of the company.
“We are always striving to approach future challenges head on and these recent appointments, along with the now complete restructure, will allow us to do this.”
