Crowds rose to over 20,000 in the period following World War II. At the time, grandstands existed on both sides of the home straight. In the 1960s, the course held a Derby Trial. No runners went on to win the Derby, but two won the St. Leger. A new stand was built for £400,000 in 1965. Attendance declined as Brighton's tourist industry did, and the facility became run down. Racecourse owning group Northern Racing took a majority stake in 1998 and spent £4m refurbishing the course. As of 1999, Northern owned 81% of the course with Brighton & Hove City Council retaining a 19% interest. Northern Racing merged with Arena Racing in 2012 to become the Arena Racing Company.