Two race meetings at Haydock Park have been cancelled this month as the racecourse works to repair damage caused by a hole which appeared in the track during a race day in May.
Repair works are underway, after the issues were traced back to a fissure associated with historic mining activity in the area, and the course should be reopen by Friday, 7 August, it has been confirmed.
However, fixtures scheduled for Friday, 17 July and Saturday, 18 July will not go ahead at our local track, but the Madness Concert which was scheduled for the end of racing on Saturday 18 July will still be happening, the course has confirmed.
If you have tickets to the Madness concert, you should be contacted with more information about the event and the options for refunds if you no longer wish to attend without the racing.
The race meet which had been due to take place at Haydock on July 18 has been relocated to Nottingham Racecourse on the same date. Plans for rescheduling the July 17 meeting will be announced by the British Horseracing Authority in due course.
Racegoers who have purchased tickets for the July 17 meeting will receive automatic refunds, while hospitality customers for both fixtures will be contacted directly by the racecourse team.
The track has been out of action since May, when a hole appeared in the flat outer course during a race day. Investigations since then have identified the cause as a fissure linked to historic mining activity beneath the site, with elements of a previous repair having deteriorated over time – creating a pocket of instability under the turf.
Daniel Cooper, Clerk of the Course at Haydock Park, said: “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.”
The repair work will involve independent structural engineers and specialists, using a membrane technique and modern materials suited to the natural makeup of the land. A Ground Penetration Radar Survey has also been carried out across the entire course, producing an updated map to support an enhanced maintenance programme going forward.
Mr Cooper explained that the course had taken the decision not to race on the inner track while the excavated area on the outer course remained exposed. However, he confirmed that once repairs are complete and the outer course has been filled in, racing on the inner course will be able to resume.
Haydock Park plans to return to racing on Friday, 7 August.