Richard Thomas is the new CEO of Towcester Racecourse

Richard Thomas is the new Chief Executive Officer of Towcester Racecourse.

Responsible for all operations and business development of the Northamptonshire site, home of the ongoing £175,000 Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby, Thomas returns to racecourse management having spent over 20 years at Chester.

That track enjoyed significant growth during Thomas’s tenure, with hospitality a particular success. Thomas was instrumental in bringing in some of Manchester’s top chefs for Chester’s famous May meeting and establishing the track as a year-round venue for conferences and banqueting.

The development of the Horseradish brand - Chester’s in-house catering division - saw contracts with the National Trust as well as providing outside catering across the region. 

Thomas also played a large role in bringing Bangor under the Chester Race Company banner where facilities saw great improvements. 

The success from those two tracks led to Thomas being named Businessman of the Year at the 2014 Cheshire Business Awards. 

In 2018, the Racehorse Owners Association voted Chester as their best big racecourse of the year and Bangor as their best small racecourse of the year. 

Musselburgh was also brought into the fold of the Chester Race Company when the future of the racecourse was put in doubt during the pandemic.

Commenting on his appointment, Thomas said: “I’m delighted to be back on track and thrilled and excited about the future here at Towcester.

“We are currently in the middle of the Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby and I’m looking forward to working with the Boothby family, general manager Mick Conneely, and all the team.

“They and Greyhound Racing UK are doing a magnificent job with all the renovations and refits going on at Towcester and, while there is plenty of work to do still, customers have noticed a huge improvement in a short space of time.

“I’ll be helping consolidate Towcester’s position as home of the English Greyhound Derby and a year-round supplier of top-class racing to the off-course betting industry.

“On course, a 10 per cent tote retention is something we have introduced and will continue to push this as a way of giving value to people coming through the gate who enjoy a flutter on the dogs.”

Mike Davis, managing director of Greyhound Racing UK, now becomes Towcester chairman.

Davis said: “Richard brings a wealth of experience in racecourse management and am delighted he is now at the helm working closely with Kevin Boothby to ensure greyhound racing is central to plans moving forward.

“He starts immediately and we are throwing him straight into the Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby!

“The second round kicks off across two nights this Friday and Saturday and we counting down each week to the final on Saturday, June 14, which will have a real festival feel to it with events planned all day.”