Racing is set to return as scheduled at Cheltenham racecourse in October after the completion of major drainage work.
The track had to cancel the final three days of its 2025-26 jumps programme in April to allow for the upgrading of a 600m drain in the straight. During Cheltenham Festival Trials Day in January a hole opened up in the surface which delayed the completion of the meeting. As a temporary fix the area was bypassed to enable the Festival to go ahead in March.
Major works completed in August
Since then major works have been undertaken to improve and replace sections of the drainage infrastructure beneath the turn, which was completed in August.
Clerk of the course Jon Pullin said: “We’re very happy with how the drainage upgrade and recovery has gone. We worked closely with specialists in turf management and drainage throughout the project to make the right decisions for the long-term management of the track.
“Starting the work in April was critical because it gave us the time to investigate the drainage system properly and take the opportunity to replace other areas that would benefit from an upgrade. For the first five weeks, our in-house team worked with our agronomists to understand exactly what was happening within the system.
Investigation of the drainage system
“There are five main drains running down the track, with a network of other drains feeding into them before reaching the outlet at the bottom of the straight. We had to open up various stretches of the home straight as part of the investigation process and this gave us a much better understanding of what was happening beneath the surface.”
He continued: “This has been a significant project and one that we wouldn’t normally undertake on this scale during the summer break. However, it has given us the opportunity to upgrade the drainage system ready for a new season.
“The drainage work is complete, recovery has gone well and we’ve also conducted another full Ground Penetrating Radar Survey of both the Old and New Course, with results showing no immediate areas of concern.”
Preparation for the Showcase meeting
During a dry, hot summer temperatures frequently peaked at 30C and above from June to August when watering commenced in August to prepare the course for the Showcase meeting on October 23 and 24.
Pullin said: “Despite the challenging summer, the track is looking in good shape, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming racing back to Cheltenham at the end of October.
“I appreciate the images of the track over the summer may have surprised some people but, as anyone with a garden will know, the last few months have been extremely hot and dry.
“However, it is normal practice for us to start watering in August, and we knew that once we started doing so the turf would come to life and the racecourse would look like its old self again.
“While there is more dry weather forecast over the next two weeks, we will continue watering to ensure we are able to provide safe ground for Jump racing.”
