CHELTENHAM STILL THINKING ABOUT PROTEST REQUEST

“There has been progress, but I am still working on what we
said would be our agenda, that we would be contacting the
people who are requesting the facility by the end of this
week.

“I have spoken to all our board, have had more than one
meeting with our police, and I shall be discussing options
with them again before the end of this week. I met up with
Jonjo O'Neill and JP McManus last week and I made sure that
JP understands the options facing us and the consequence of
each of those options.

“I have also spoken with Coolmore and the chief executive at
Manchester United, but the main thing is for everybody to
realise what the consequences of any decision would be. The
discussions have been very helpful and we have tried to get
everybody necessary involved in the consultation process.

“We still have four weeks to the Gold Cup (on March 18), but
we are still baffled how Cheltenham racecourse gets into
what is a private matter and people's views about it. The
safety of the horses and jockeys and the security of the
racegoers remain our number one priority and we will make
sure that whatever decision we make, we will able to manage
the consequences.”