Walsh in favour of Kempton closure

Ruby Walsh feels the planned closure of Kempton could be a good thing for racing.

The Jockey Club on Tuesday announced shock plans to close Kempton for housing redevelopment 'from 2021 at the earliest' as part of a £500million investment in the sport.

Under the plans the King George VI Chase would move to Sandown with a new all-weather facility built at Newmarket, but a number of leading National Hunt figures have expressed their dismay at the proposals.

While, trainer Nicky Henderson fears it could be the final nail in the coffin for jumps racing, Walsh believes it could be a positive step for the sport.

"I really don't think shutting Kempton Park is necessarily bad for jumps racing, like a lot of people are making out," he told RacingUK.com.

"If you do stand still in any walk of life, then you risk being left behind and fading away, but the Jockey Club are doing the opposite by looking to the future.

"We hear every day that prize-money is the biggest issue in racing; well they have pledged to invest #250m into prize-money, half of which is going into jumps racing.

"None of those jumps fixtures from Kempton Park will be lost as apparently they will be rehoused at different tracks all over the country.

"I would have a big problem if the Jockey Club were pocketing all this money from the housing development, but they're not and we shouldn't lose sight of that.

"To be honest it wasn't the biggest surprise, Kempton gets a great crowd for Boxing Day, but that's one day a year.

"Of course, I have some great memories of Kempton Park and have enjoyed some magical days which I will never forget, thanks to Kauto Star, so it is sad that there may not be racing there from 2021. But looking at it in a cold, detached way, this move just makes sense."

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