THE bitter battle for the ownership of Sedgefield racecourse appeared to be at an end last night.

Yesterday, Appeal Court judges rejected a bid by Hilary Scotto to stop the course falling into the hands of Northern Racing, owned by millionaire entrepreneur Stan Clarke.

The ruling means Mrs Scotto, whose late husband Frank was chairman of the County Durham course for nearly 20 years, is left facing massive legal costs.

Mrs Scotto, who owns just over 21 per cent of the company which controls the course, stood alone in refusing to sell her shares to Mr Clarke's company.

She launched her own takeover bid in an effort to keep the racecourse independent and fought her corner through the courts.

She feared that Mr Clarke, who already controls Newcastle, Uttoxeter and Brighton racecourses, would take fixtures away from Sedgefield - a claim he strongly denies.

Mrs Scotto had argued that the rules of the course meant that other shareholders, who had already signed sale agreements with Northern Racing, were obliged to notify Sedgefield's directors of the deal.

Had she won the appeal, Mrs Scotto would have argued that she should be given first refusal on buying the disputed shares.

But judges yesterday upheld an earlier court decision in Northern Racing's favour which gives the company effective control over 75 per cent of the racecourse's shareholding.

Mrs Scotto, who was not in court yesterday, faces having to pay the costs of the court hearings - likely to run into tens of thousands of pounds.

She was refused permission to appeal to the House of Lords, but may still petition the Law Lords directly.

So far, Mrs Scotto has declined to comment on the decision, but the ruling has been met with sadness among Sedgefield racegoers.

Bishop Auckland trainer Denys Smith, who had his first winner at Sedgefield in 1958 said: "It's a shame."

Lingdale trainer Mary Revely, who has a fantastic record at Sedgefield, said: "I feel sorry for Mrs Scotto after all the work her late husband put into the course.

"I just hope Mr Clarke keeps Sedgefield going as well as he would have done."

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