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24 Jun 15
18:21
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26 Nov 08
YARMOUTH may have to delay racing until later in the year or miss the season altogether according to owner Arena Racing Company amid concerns about the condition of the newly resurfaced track.
The seaside course is aiming for racing to resume on July 23 after it was closed in September to allow resurfacing to take place as a number of ridges developed and a crucial inspection of the track by the BHA is set to take place a week on Friday to assess progress.
However, a wet winter delayed reseeding at Yarmouth, which will not be reopened until the BHA and horsemen are satisfied with the condition of the surface, according to owner Arena Racing Company.
Susannah Gill, director of external affairs at Arc, even raised the possibility of Yarmouth not racing again this year if the grass growth is not deemed acceptable.
She said: "We are still hoping to open on July 23 but it is a watching brief. There is a lovely sward on the track, but the next BHA inspection on Friday week is crucial and there is a chance the opening could be put back if officials are not happy with it.
"We had an awful winter with more rain than usual which meant a delay in the reseeding. The turf looks great but it depends how deep the sward is and if it can take half a ton of horse. We want the track for the next five, ten and 15 years and if we don't think the course is up to it there is an outside chance we won't race this season.
"It's a judgement call and there is a safety element involved especially with the impact of three consecutive days in September at our Eastern Festival."
Should Yarmouth receive a positive update from the BHA, trainers are expected to be asked to exercise their horses on the surface to gauge the grass growth.
Gill added: "If we get the green light from the BHA we would look to have some trials on it the following week. We want the Newmarket trainers to bring their good horses to Yarmouth like they did 20 years ago."
The seaside course is aiming for racing to resume on July 23 after it was closed in September to allow resurfacing to take place as a number of ridges developed and a crucial inspection of the track by the BHA is set to take place a week on Friday to assess progress.
However, a wet winter delayed reseeding at Yarmouth, which will not be reopened until the BHA and horsemen are satisfied with the condition of the surface, according to owner Arena Racing Company.
Susannah Gill, director of external affairs at Arc, even raised the possibility of Yarmouth not racing again this year if the grass growth is not deemed acceptable.
She said: "We are still hoping to open on July 23 but it is a watching brief. There is a lovely sward on the track, but the next BHA inspection on Friday week is crucial and there is a chance the opening could be put back if officials are not happy with it.
"We had an awful winter with more rain than usual which meant a delay in the reseeding. The turf looks great but it depends how deep the sward is and if it can take half a ton of horse. We want the track for the next five, ten and 15 years and if we don't think the course is up to it there is an outside chance we won't race this season.
"It's a judgement call and there is a safety element involved especially with the impact of three consecutive days in September at our Eastern Festival."
Should Yarmouth receive a positive update from the BHA, trainers are expected to be asked to exercise their horses on the surface to gauge the grass growth.
Gill added: "If we get the green light from the BHA we would look to have some trials on it the following week. We want the Newmarket trainers to bring their good horses to Yarmouth like they did 20 years ago."
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Replies: 48
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You've been saying for months it was certain to go ahead.
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doubt it will be missed much, attendances only once went over 5000 last year with the lowest being 772 on the 22nd April. Would be better off shutting it down permanently imho
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Don't give Arena an excuse to close another course. I'm sure they would love to develop all of their courses for other uses.
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lack of interest would appear to be a good one
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themover
it would be very much missed as would any of our turf racecourses . |
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If I was Arena Leisure and 700 people turned up to a meeting I would be considering other options I'm afraid to say
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salmon spray • June 24, 2015 6:25 PM BST
You've been saying for months it was certain to go ahead. Yes, I have and in my humble opinion, it will! |
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Caravan Park Extension
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around 13000 turn up for the eastern festival around 5000 for the sunday fixture the easter Monday and ladies night are also well supported,very few racecourses get 6 busy days like Yarmouth gets.
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on 17 days in 2014 Leicester got 3 figure attendences would you close that as well then themover ?
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10th july 2014 373 turned up at Nottingham there highest turnout of 2014 was 3796 thank god jockey club racecourses don't take your approach.
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sadly been a v dry spring and lack of rainfall has been against the racecourse I am led to believe foxy
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Someone on ATR the sunday forum said as much.
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hello flash
I have no worries about the future of Yarmouth if they did race this season and something went wrong then that could cause problems. when they closed the stand at bath all the doom and gloom merchants said that would be the end it wasn't. |
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Geoff Lester on The Sunday Forum hinted that Yarmouth and Bath will be ARC's next closures and Chepstow will go all jumps. I can see nothing that would digress from that plan, and can see the outstanding fixtures being accommodated at Newcastle and wherever else they choose to create havoc.
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migrants--free entry
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both bath and Yarmouth get very well supported fixtures Geoff lester has spent most of his life talking crap however I would have to agree with the idea of Chepstow going all national hunt as warwick has it would be a forward step.
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He said they were deliberately running down Bath. Reuben brothers like housing estates, not race crowds!
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jmdc
have you ever been on lansdown hill ? |
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I have, and thoroughly enjoyed it. What's the news about the stand foxy?
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they have no imminent plans to build one Ive not been for the last two seasons but I am told it works fine the way it is.
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ARC will just run it down till no-one likes it. They certainly took their vengeance out on my lovable Folkestone!
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Too many gaff tracks have hardly improved facilities for decades. Racing is becoming increasingly insular, with only a few meetings having spectator appeal. Too much Class 5 and 6 dross. Small stables might like it, but the public don't.
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That's why I don't understand how Fontwell survives. ARC put on the biggest heap of filth in the world at this track and everyone flocks to watch the crp, especially on a Sunday.
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jmdc a good description of folkestone
 arc spent a lot of money on the new stand at fontwell which ironically the funds were borrowed at a very low rate from the bha or whoever then ran racing.fontwell do make a great effort to get people threw the gates although they have made a huge rick switching ladies night from august to may. |
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by the way there is no such thing as bad national hunt racing some is just better.
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But, on a seven race card we typically get one grade three (THE BIG RACE), two grade fours, three grade fives and/or another five or a six (the bumper)! When I used to go there the quality was reasonably high - now it's a heap of selling-class sht!
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^ and they are all poor handicaps save for the first novice/maiden hurdle and the bumper, if there is one!
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That's why I like Worcester. They try to put on proper conditions races and get good races in return. I still preferred today's 3 runner novice chase to a poor novice handicap full of 100 rated hurdlers.
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still great fun never a dull moment at fontwell or plumpton for that matter.
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You're a NH purist like myself.
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love Worcester thank good its on a flood place because these Rueben brothers would have closed it down a long time ago,when Worcester use to race in the winter they had the Worcester novice chase the likes of captain dibble,see more Indians,and barton bank won the race,since they stopped winter racing the race is now run at the hennesy meeting.the Worcester bumpers can produce good horses black jack ketcham made his debut there one summers night.
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I do prefer the national hunt jmdc I spend a lot of the winter going but I do like the top flat racing, royal ascot,the guineas meeting and the autumn fixtures on the Rowley mile are all fantastic fixtures.
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First its too wet then its too dry
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they should have had it seeded last year ,was always going to happen
they blame the dry weather but they must have had a watering system set up ? Said from the start there was no chance of racing this year ,so no surprise tbh |
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They should dig Epsom and Ripon up as well, dreadful surfaces.
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I think most of us know which 5 tracks soon to be 6 should be dug up.
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was offered an even 50 today will be racing again,
the new houses should have nice green gardens thou depending on raifall imo |
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racing to take place sunday 30th august.
then the 3 day eastern festival  |