Arena Leisure and Northern Racing have announced the temporary closure of Folkestone racecourse at the end of the 2012 season.
The racecourse fixtures currently staged at Folkestone will be transferred to other racecourses within the group. The company stated that Folkestone may re-open in the future, subject to negotiations with Shepway Council.
Tony Kelly, managing director of Arena and Northern, said: "Folkestone suffers from out-dated facilities and has been the subject of detailed discussion between the previous management, Arena Leisure, and Shepway district council for several years now.
"The proposal for the site incorporated significant residential development, which would have enabled a new racecourse to be constructed with much enhanced amenities.
"However, these plans have been delayed following the recent examination in public of the local plan. Discussions will continue with Shepway district council in the hope that there will be approval of development plans which would secure the future of the racecourse. If they succeed, work to reconfigure the racecourse could commence in 2013."