The October opening of the £23m Great Leighs racecourse in Essex has been delayed.

Great Leighs, Britain’s first new racecourse for 80 years, has returned the six fixtures from 6 October to 5 November this year to the British Horseracing Board (BHB), which will auction off the dates to all flat racecourses next week.

The delay follows a site visit by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority Inspectorate on 3 August.

John Holmes, chair, said: “Naturally it is disappointing not to be ready on the date originally selected, but we still expect to be racing before the end of the year.”

BHB acting chief executive, Chris Brand, added: “The success of the project should not be judged on its start date, but on what it achieves for British racing in the years to come.”

The opening of the all-weather track – the date of which will be announced after a BHB inspection on 8 September – will be of the first phase of the scheme. When the project is fully completed in September 2007, it will host floodlit night races and boast a new grandstand. Details: www.greatleighs.com