A pair of racetracks, one near London and the other in South Wales, will be the first new courses in Great Britain in nearly eight decades after the British Horseracing Board (BHB) on Monday approved those bids while rejecting proposals for Newcastle upon Tyne and Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire.

Both the approved tracks--London City at Fairlop Waters near Essex and Pembrey in South Wales--could open as soon as 2001, the first new courses since Taunton began conducting racing on September 21, 1927, Racing Post reports.

London City, which is expected to conduct racing on a dirt track under the lights on Thursday evenings, is projected to cost approximately $63.92-million. The track's management has said they would like to conduct preps for the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) and Breeders' Cup programs, two of the world's premier racing events.

"It's our dream to bring international quality dirt racing," said Geoff Lansbury, finance and development director for Wiggins Group, developer of the London City course, which still must be approved by local authorities.

The Pembrey course is projected to cost approximately $12.8-million and will feature a dual-purpose turf course. Mel Davies, who led the effort to bring racing to South Wales after the BHB initially rejected the idea in 1997, said, "It's an amazing success story for us.

"We're not part of the Establishment, and a lot of people would have given up and walked away after all the knock-backs we've had. But not us," Davies added.