Arena Leisure Plc will announce its Preliminary results for the year ended
31 December 2002 on Tuesday, 2 April 2003.

An analyst conference will be held at 9:30am on 2 April, at:

Deutsche Bank
Winchester House
1 Great Winchester Street
London EC2N 2DB

In addition, the Company's AGM will be held at Royal Windsor Racecourse on
Monday, 19 May 2003 at 3.30pm.

Lots of coverage this morning - this is typical


Simon Bowers and Mark Milner
Thursday April 3, 2003
The Guardian

Gamblers torn between a flutter on the fillies and a turn at the card table are to be given a package combining the two.
Racecourse operator Arena Leisure

ADVERTISEMENT

and gaming group, Gala, are teaming up to bring Britain its first "racino".

The two companies have struck a 25-year deal to create a combination of racecourse and casino at Arena's all- weather track in Wolverhampton.

Plans will be submitted to the local council over the next eight weeks and the companies hope to have the venture running within 18 months. The racino proposal will also include an upgrade for the racecourse and an expansion of the on-site Holiday Inn.

Racinos are an import from the US, where they are a widespread phenomenon typically involving all-weather tracks associated with huge, warehouse-style casinos crammed with banks of slot machines.

Arena said yesterday that the Wolverhampton project could go ahead without waiting for changes to the gaming regulations because it was within an area where casino operations were already permitted.

Ian Penrose, Arena's group managing director, said: "As Wolverhampton is the only UK racecourse with an all-weather track, floodlit racing and hotel, we are confident that the addition of a unique casino next year will make it an even more compelling customer proposition and also benefit the wider community."

John Kelly, chief executive of Gala, said the partnership of Arena and his company wanted to offer a "high-volume, low-ticket package".

Commenting on the impact of gaming deregulation, Mr Kelly added: "The economics of the racino will be transformed by liberalisation of gaming and, as we have witnessed in the United States, the combination of a racecourse and a casino can be very successful."

News of the deal came as Arena, which owns six of Britain's 59 racecourses but stages a fifth of all races, disclosed that it had made an operating profit of 4m last year, compared with an operating loss of 1.8m the previous year.

However, start-up costs at its pay-television joint venture with BSkyB and Channel 4 - attheraces - pushed the group into a pre-tax loss of 6.9m. Arena said attheraces was expected to break even in the second half of 2005.

Asked about the imminent report into horse-racing by the office of fair trading, Mr Penrose said: "We would expect any greater commercial freedom and a focusing on serving the customer to be warmly welcomed."

OFT announcement comment

LONDON (AFX) - Arena Leisure PLC said the Office of Fair Trading was looking into attheraces Holdings Ltd's purchase in June 2001 of the media rights to 49 of the UK's 59 racecourses in June 2001.
Arena, which is a 33 pct shareholder in the attheraces venture alongside British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC and Channel 4, said its partners, the Racecourse Association, and all 49 racecourses which signed the media agreement have also received this notification.

Arena, which owns six racecourses, said it will consider the implications of the OFT's notice.

"We consider that the OFT has not raised any concerns about the formation of the Joint Venture between BSkyB, Channel 4 and ourselves to purchase horseracing rights but has significant concerns that racecourses acted collectively to sell their rights during the negotiations," said Arena's managing director Ian Penrose.

"We will endeavour to work with all concerned to address the OFT's findings," he said.

Arena also said it welcomed the OFT's inquiry into the rules and regulations of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and Jockey Club, which govern and regulate British horseracing.

The OFT earlier today said some BHB and Jockey Club rules may infringe competition laws, on the basis that they monopolise the supply of race and runners data, fix the amounts that racecourses must offer owners and limit the freedom of racecourses to organise their racing.

"The OFT's inquiry is the most in-depth review of the organisation of British horseracing ever," said Penrose. "As the owner of six racecourses which staged 22 pct of last year's races, Arena welcomes recommendations that will enhance the commercial freedom of racecourses and other industry participants."

Shares are marking time


Arena welcomes racing shake-up
By Alistair Osborne, Associate City Editor (Filed: 09/04/2003) Telegraph


Arena Leisure, the owner of six racecources including Lingfield and Windsor, yesterday said it was keen to have more racing at its tracks after the Office of Fair Trading signalled a potentially far-reaching shake-up of the industry.

In a preliminary report, the OFT found that some of the rules of the sport's governing bodies, the British Horseracing Board and the Jockey Club, infringe the 1998 Competition Act.

In particular, the OFT found it was uncompetitive that the BHB should "limit the freedom of racecourses to organise their racing", fix their prize money, and control the supply of data on runners and riders.

Heralding a shift in power from the BHB to Britain's 59 tracks, the OFT's findings, if implemented, would enable racecourses to stage meetings whenever they wished.

Ian Penrose, chief executive of Arena which operates 22pc of the fixture list, welcomed "recommendations that will enhance the commercial freedom of racecourses".

The proposed arrangements would enable Arena and other track operators like Northern Racing to strike deals with bookmakers over fixtures, radically changing how racing is organised.

The news for Arena was not all good, however. The OFT is also investigating attheraces.co.uk, where Arena is a one-third shareholder in the consortium that acquired the media rights to racing, alongside BSkyB and Channel 4.

Mr Penrose said the OFT has "significant concerns that racecourses acted collectively to sell their rights", but he did not expect the OFT to tear up the deal. Arena shares rose 0.5 to 21.75p.

David Harding, chief executive of William Hill, said "from a bookmakers' perspective there can be no downside" from the OFT's proposals.

However, he believed the sport "should not be subject to total free market economics. We do need some sort of co-ordination in a sport so directly linked to gambling. If you don't have strong regulation, organised crime will find its way in."

The BHB has about eight weeks to persuade the OFT change its mind. Greg Nichols, BHB chief executive, said "the OFT has fundamentally misunderstood how and why British racing operates as it does".

Lets not talk about the losers shall we :-))

Gravy

The Board of Arena announces today that Robert W. Baird Limited has been
appointed to act as broker and joint financial advisor to the Company, with
immediate effect.

Deutsche Bank will continue to act as joint financial advisor to the Company.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ('AGM') STATEMENT


Arena Leisure Plc ("Arena" or the "Company") today held its Annual General
Meeting at Royal Windsor Racecourse. All resolutions were duly passed.

During the AGM, Arena's Group Managing Director, Ian Penrose, made the following
remarks:

"Arena continues to be the UK's busiest independent racecourse operator. A total
of 248 fixtures will be staged at Arena's six racecourses this year, being 20%
of all UK race days. Underlying trading at our racecourse division for the year
to date is significantly ahead of last year. Corporate hospitality bookings for
the summer are encouraging.

"At the time of our preliminary results we announced a unique deal with Gala
Casinos to open the UK's first 'Racino' at Wolverhampton and to extend the
on-site hotel. Planning permission for this development will be submitted within
the next month. Royal Windsor racecourse is a special venue and we have been
working closely with all interested parties on our proposals for the course. We
expect to make further announcements later this year.

"Current trading of attheraces is in line with our plans. As predicted in our
preliminary results announcement, attheraces has already achieved the same
pari-mutuel betting turnover during the first 16 weeks of this financial year as
it did during the whole of 2002. Record viewing figures were achieved during
Aintree's Grand National Festival and attheraces betting turnover continues to
grow monthly, recently achieving its biggest betting week ever. Betting turnover
on international live racing from the US and France is also encouraging.

"As announced on 8 April 2003, the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") served a Rule
14 Notice to the British Horseracing Board ("BHB") and the Jockey Club following
its investigations into the governance agreements notified to it by these two
bodies. The OFT's investigation has focused on the greater freedom of
racecourses to organise their racing, the amounts that racecourses must offer
owners in prize money and the supply of race and runners data. Arena expects the
BHB and Jockey Club to respond to the OFT's Notice towards the end of June.
Arena will make further announcements in due course with regards to the effect
that this Ruling may have on our racecourse operations.

"Arena also announced on 8 April 2003 that the OFT also issued a Rule 14 Notice
to the Company expressing significant concerns that the 49 racecourses which
sold certain media and betting rights to attheraces in June 2001 acted
collectively in the negotiations. We are currently in discussions with our joint
venture partners in attheraces and with the Racecourse Association as to how an
outcome may be reached which satisfies the OFT. Our initial response will be
submitted to the OFT during June 2003. Further announcements will be made in due
course."

Very good interim results out for Arena. It looks like it has a lot more to go yet: -

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200309020700292635P.html

Arena Leisure PLC
02 September 2003



Arena Leisure Plc ('Arena' or the 'Group')

Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2003


Highlights

Financial

Group turnover increased by 22% to 19.1m (2002: 15.6m)

Group EBITDA increased by 114% to 4.1m (2002: 1.9m)

Group operating profit increased by 209% to 3.2m (2002: 1.0m)

attheraces losses reduced to 5.6m

Pre tax loss reduced by 55% to 2.0m (2002: 4.5m)

At 30 June 2003:

- Bank and other debt reduced by 62% to 2.2m (31 December 2002: 5.8m)

- Cash on blocked deposit of 2.8m (31 December 2002: 10.5m)

Operations

Racecourse attendances up 17%
Prize money increased by 28% to a record 5.7m
Partnership announced with Gala Group to develop the UK's first
racecourse casino at Wolverhampton - planning application submitted
Investment in improved facilities at Lingfield Park, Wolverhampton and
Folkestone racecourses

attheraces now available to 8.9m digital TV homes

Commenting on the interim results, Ian Penrose, Arena's Group Managing Director
said:

'These results demonstrate the solid performance which Arena has delivered
during the first half of the year. With racecourse attendances increasing by 17%
and the potential benefits arising from anticipated change within the racing
industry, I remain confident about Arena's future prospects.'

CAS Arena Leisure : Preferred bidder for Doncaster
19-May-2004 15:42

Arena Leisure today said it has been
appointed as the preferred bidder for
the Town Moor Development Project. The
conclusion of the joint venture
arrangement is subject to due diligence
and final terms and conditions being
agreed.
Doncaster Racecourse at Town Moor is a
Group One track, hosting 29 race
fixtures throughout the year. It is
also home to the St Leger, the oldest,
classic horserace in the world, which
is held annually in September. The
racecourse also has conference and
exhibition facilities.

ICV Edited News from Dow Jones
1442 GMT May 19 2004

Anyone know why these have woken up. Long time/term holder.