Inside track: Wet spell is causing problems for course

May 2 2008 The Journal

JANUARY and February were unseasonably dry this year and it was inevitable the rains would arrive in spring when we really do not need it.

April saw nearly twice as much rainfall as the two preceding months – three-and-a-half inches to be precise – and it is starting to affect the courses in both positive and negative ways.

The inch-and-a-half of rain and sudden milder weather we have had at Gosforth Park in the last week has certainly started to breathe life into the turf.

The grass on the course has spurted and you can almost see it growing, but underfoot conditions are so wet there is simply no way to mow it.

Our next meeting is on Monday, May 5, and we are hoping the unsettled wet spell subsides so that racing goes ahead on ground that is not too testing for Flat horses.

May is a busy month, with four race meetings, and we don’t want to be excessively damaging the course on heavy ground, which, on going to print, was also waterlogged in places.

Plans are under way to continue our on-going drainage scheme. Major works have been carried out over the last six years and many areas of both the Flat and National Hunt courses are much improved.

This summer, in-between meetings on the Flat track, we plan to carry out work on areas we have identified as needing attention before worsening and to ensure a consistent surface. A machine will be contracted in to ‘sand inject’.

This means there is no displacement of soil or potential for subsidence and in theory horses can race over it within 24 hours.

This is an ideal system for us during the busy Flat season, as we do not have the gaps in fixtures to allow major excavation work to be carried out.

The machine makes about 10 furrows a time, which are no more than an inch wide and these are instantly filled with sand, the best draining material.

The displaced furrows are nine to 10 inches deep which helps connect the surface with the old drainage system and creates an efficient way of getting water away from the surface.

JAMES Armstrong is clerk of the course at Newcastle racecourse.