Haydock set to resume racing with two day-fixture in August

Racing is set to resume at Haydock Park on Friday, August 7 following extensive work to find the cause of a hole in the ground which appeared at the track in May.

While the Temple Stakes meeting continued on May 23, fixtures scheduled for July 2, 3 and 4 were moved as investigations were carried out.

To support the return in August, the fixtures due to take place on July 17 and 18 have now been cancelled, with July 18 moved to Nottingham and plans for the meeting on the 17th still to be finalised. A post-racing Madness concert that had been scheduled for July 18 will still go ahead at Haydock as planned.

Having found what they believe to be the reason for the hole appearing on the outer track, officials are confident they will be in a position to welcome racegoers back for the two-day meeting in early August, when racing will take place on the inner course.

Clerk of the course Daniel Cooper said: “While it is disappointing to cancel our fixtures in July, we are confident this is the right decision to allow us to work with the relevant experts to complete further investigations and carry out the recommended repair to the outer track.

“Our investigations have narrowed down the cause of the issue to a fissure associated with historic mining activity in the area and that elements of a previous repair deteriorated, which created a pocket of instability beneath the turf, which led to the hole that appeared in May.

“Working with independent structural engineers and experts in this field, we have traced the fissure and will replace the previous repair with a more robust and durable solution. This will involve using a membrane and repair technique utilising modern materials and layers of material found in the natural makeup of the land.

“We also conducted a Ground Penetration Radar Survey across the entire course. As you would expect, the survey identified some anomalies which we have checked. The results will enable us to produce an up-to-date map of the racecourse to support our enhanced maintenance programme which will now be put in place.”

He added: “We have always been of the view that, in the interests of safety, it would not be appropriate to race on the inner course while the excavated area remained exposed on the adjacent outer course. However, having spent considerable time investigating and analysing the results we are now confident that once we have repaired and filled in the excavated areas of the outer course, we will be able to race on the inner course.

“While we allow the outer course time to recover from the necessary work, the team will work hard to ensure the inner course is in the best condition possible to stage all racing in the meantime.”