Amy Starkey

Jim Allen has been appointed as the new general manager of Epsom Downs Racecourse, it was announced by the Jockey Club on Monday. He succeeds Tom Sammes, who leaves the Jockey Club at the end of this month. Allen's early career involved the management of two UK racecourses, Huntingdon and Sedgefield, before he served as racing director at Arena Racing Company (ARC) between 2006 and 2015. In this role he was involved in the innovation of the All-Weather Championships, the introduction of the new Tapeta racing surface at Newcastle and Wolverhampton...

A combined response from business and council leaders as well as members of the racing community has been launched in Newmarket to aid vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest training centre in Britain, Newmarket is home to 76 training yards and two racecourses, as well as the British Racing School, Jockey Club Estates, Tattersalls and a number of major studs. The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, European Breeders' Fund and Racing Welfare are among the racing-related bodies with head offices in the town. At present, the training of racehorses is...

NEWMARKET, UK—It's hard not to feel like Christmas has just been cancelled. The Flat turf season doesn't revolve around Newmarket, of course. There are more than 14,000 horses in training in Britain and only about 2,500 of those are based in the East Anglian town, but that does make it the busiest training centre and, as the place where it all began, Newmarket lays claims to being the sport's unofficial HQ. Having emerged from the wettest and windiest of winters with the start of the turf now just days rather...