Haydock has cancelled its two-day fixture scheduled for later this week after the track failed a Tuesday 1pm inspection on the suitability of the inner course for racing. The decision came after a weekend already disrupted by a drainage problem that forced three races off the card.
The cancellation means Friday and Saturday’s races will not go ahead as planned, and the track said it was working with the British Horseracing Authority on what happens next. External drainage specialists and agronomists were at the course on Tuesday as investigations continued into the cause of the hole discovered on the outer course at Saturday’s fixture.
Saturday’s problems began when a significant drainage issue led to the discovery of a hole on the outer course, stopping three races and forcing officials to adjust the rest of the programme. Friendly Soul took a misstep in the Hedge of Oak Stakes before the issue with the surface was identified, and the remaining sprint races, including the Sandy Lane Stakes and the Temple Stakes, were switched to the inner track.
Haydock said the inner course would not have the chance to recover to an acceptable standard for racing this weekend after three days of racing in recent days. That assessment shut the door on the planned return later in the week and turned attention to whether the abandoned meetings can be fitted in elsewhere on the calendar.
The Saturday card, headlined by the Group 3 Betway Lester Piggott Fillies' Stakes and due to be broadcast on ITV, had already been viewed as a major meeting before the surface issue changed the day’s shape. What began as a problem in one part of the course has now forced the abandonment of an entire weekend fixture, with the BHA set to issue further updates on the rescheduling in due course.
