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The billionaire brothers who now control almost four out of every ten race meetings in Britain have delivered an upbeat assessment of the sport's future with David and Simon Reuben affirming to the Racing Post their faith in the long-term prospects of British racing.

In a rare media interview the publicity-shy Reubens, who recently added Arena Leisure plc to a vast racecourse empire that already housed the Northern tracks, insisted they would be "good custodians" of their racecourses and stressed they had no plans to close any of their venues.

The Reubens recently entered racehorse ownership for the first time when paying £20,000 to have a Zamindar colt carry their colours this season as part of a charity venture organised by Dr Marwan Koukash on behalf of Racing Welfare.

However, that acquisition will have less bearing on the brothers' financial future than the purchase of Arena, whose seven tracks - including Doncaster, Lingfield and Windsor - will now come under the same management as Northern, which owns nine racecourses - most notably Chepstow, Newcastle and Uttoxeter - and also manages Ffos Las for Dai Walters.

The brothers, whose estimated combined worth of £7 billion placed them eighth in the latest Sunday Times Rich List, used the interview to call on the sport's constituents to deliver "a more cohesive approach to the future strategic direction and structure of the British racing industry".

However, while lamenting conflict in racing politics and expressing regret over the ineffectiveness of the levy system, the Reubens appeared to make a concerted effort to present themselves as committed supporters of racing in the long term.

They said: "We fundamentally believe in the long-term prospects of British racing both at home and in the international market.

"We aim to take an active part in formulating policy and shaping the future of British horseracing. We will be good custodians of what we own."

8 May 2012