The Jockey Club has confirmed that Haydock Park Racecourse will resume racing in August after a hole appeared on the Flat outer track during a raceday in May. To facilitate repairs, fixtures scheduled for Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18 have been cancelled. The July 18 meeting will be moved to Nottingham Racecourse on the same date, while the British Horseracing Authority will finalise plans for the July 17 fixture.
Madness Concert to Proceed as Planned
The Madness concert, originally set to follow racing on Saturday, July 18, will go ahead at Haydock Park as scheduled. All ticket purchasers and hospitality guests will be contacted directly with further details about the concert and refund processes. Ticket holders for the July 17 racing fixture will receive automatic refunds, and hospitality customers will be contacted by the racecourse team.
Cause of the Track Issue
Clerk of the Course at Haydock Park, Daniel Cooper, stated: "While it is disappointing to cancel our fixtures in July, we are confident that 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." He explained that investigations narrowed the cause to a fissure associated with historic mining activity and deterioration of a previous repair, creating an instability pocket beneath the turf. The repair will involve a membrane and modern materials to provide a more robust solution.
Enhanced Maintenance Programme
A Ground Penetration Radar Survey across the entire course identified anomalies that have been checked. The results will produce an updated map of the racecourse to support an enhanced maintenance programme. Cooper 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."
Support from Stakeholders
Cooper thanked the British Horseracing Authority for supporting the rescheduling, as well as the National Trainers Federation, Professional Jockeys’ Association, Racecourse Owners’ Association, and members and racegoers for their understanding during the investigations.
