There were times when John Holmes considered himself “completely mad” to pursue his tortured creation of a new racecourse in Essex. There was even a time, six months ago, when he was tempted to sell up and walk away. But not any more.

Yesterday, though the mud was still thick on what remains unarguably a work in progress, the vision that is Great Leighs was plain enough to justify the posters in the office lobby declaring “The Wait Is Almost Over”.

The wait, since the first aborted launch in October 2006, has been so long, punctuated by so many false dawns, that the project has become open season for the serial cynics who litter racing. Some are still convinced it will never open, many insist it can never succeed.

Holmes has not inured himself to such scepticism. “I'm still as thin-skinned as ever,” he admits. But he should not have to endure it much longer. Trials will be staged here next week. Its first meeting - spectators by invitation only - follows a fortnight later. Then, on May 26, the gates will open officially on a venture that has already cost Holmes £28 million, countless nightmares and, at various stages, his health and confidence.

“There has been plenty of pain and suffering,” he said. “If we'd sold it, it might have been ready some time ago but when we open, we own it all.”

In deference to business confidentiality, Holmes is coy about the offer he received last summer. But it did not come from Arena Leisure, the group he has now taken on for raceday management, so many will draw their own conclusions.

Frustrated beyond belief by floods and other freakish building conditions, Holmes considered his options. The British Horseracing Authority was supportive. So, too, was his family. He rejected his suitors and battled on. “Unless you put me in front of a firing squad, I won't sell now, and nor will I cut corners. I've come this far and I will make certain it is right.

“Yes, there have been times when I've just put my head in my hands and despaired. But I also know it's a bit like having a child. Sure, it's been a difficult birth but, once it's born, that's when the real work starts.”

One of the myths peddled is that Great Leighs has nothing but a tent for public amenities. The truth of phase one, before a permanent stand, is a centre-field structure bought and transported from the K Club in Ireland, where it was used for the Ryder Cup. It is 150 metres in length and two storeys high. From the dual carriageway that will feed this course more efficiently than most, it resembles an ocean liner.

It is still little more than a shell but, once the decorators have finished, it will boast a hotel-style lobby, several restaurants, a sports bar and a nightclub. Great Leighs will not only be the first new racecourse in 80 years but the first to have 24-hour licensing.

There will be no day membership and the annual fee of £500 sounds excessive only until you see the facilities and extras it includes. “It's a country club concept and we will close it at 2,000 members. We've sold plenty already.” He has also had 180 corporate inquiries about his 20 luxury boxes, none of which has yet gone on sale.

He hopes to have 80 fixtures next year and one thing hugely in Great Leighs's favour is its catchment area, estimated by Holmes to be four million people. Another is its proximity to Newmarket, whose trainers can hardly fail to be impressed by the mile-round Polytrack with gentle, sweeping bends and, being left-handed, the ability to prepare good horses for American targets. “There's nothing on the planet better than this,” Holmes enthused. “There is no draw bias over any distance.”

Holmes is already planning a Breeders' Cup trial meeting for September 27, a night fixture dovetailing into racing at Belmont in New York. He is bubbling with other ideas, because that is his entrepreneurial nature, but he knows better than to broadcast them just yet. First, he has to silence the sceptics. And he will.