Cheltenham has completed a major drainage upgrade beneath its home straight ahead of the return of racing for the Showcase Meeting on 23 and 24 October.
The racecourse said the work, which began in April after Cheltenham ended its previous season early, included replacing its 600-metre main drain and more than 1,000 metres of drainage infrastructure in total. The project was finished in August, leaving the course team to concentrate on turf recovery and preparation for the opening meeting of the new season.
The Jockey Club had announced in April that the final three racedays of Cheltenham’s season would not take place so that the necessary work could be carried out. That decision created time for an investigation of the existing system as well as the installation work on the home straight.
Early closure allowed wider work on the straight
Jon Pullin, Cheltenham’s clerk of the course, said the April start had been important because it allowed the racecourse and its advisers to examine the drainage system in detail before deciding where further replacement was needed.
According to Pullin, there are five main drains running down the track, supplied by a network of other drains before water reaches the outlet at the foot of the straight. Sections of the home straight were opened during the initial investigation, which he said gave the team a clearer picture of the system below the racing surface.
The principal drain was replaced with a modern plastic system. Cheltenham also said drainage contractor D W Clark developed equipment tailored to the project, with the intention of retaining existing turf for use during the recovery period later in the summer.
That detail matters because the project was not simply a replacement of one length of pipework. The racecourse used the early closure to assess adjoining areas and replace additional drainage where it considered an upgrade beneficial. More than a kilometre of infrastructure was ultimately renewed.
Pullin said a drainage project of this size would not normally be undertaken during a standard summer break. In this instance, however, Cheltenham considered the altered programme an opportunity to improve the system before the next National Hunt campaign.
Recovery work continues before the Showcase Meeting
Cheltenham said a further full ground-penetrating radar survey has since been conducted across both the Old and New Courses. Pullin reported that the results showed no immediate areas of concern.
The work has taken place during a notably dry summer. Pullin said temperatures were regularly at or above 30C between June and August, creating an additional challenge for the team responsible for the racing surface. Watering began in August, which Cheltenham described as normal practice, and will continue while dry weather remains in the forecast.
Pullin said the course had recovered well and was looking in good condition despite images from the summer which, he acknowledged, may have surprised observers. He said the racecourse had expected the turf to respond once watering started.
For the forthcoming fixtures, Cheltenham’s stated priority is to provide safe ground for jump racing. The Showcase Meeting will therefore offer the first practical test of the preparations following a summer in which the course sacrificed three racedays to carry out the work.
The completion date is significant for the racecourse because the construction element is no longer competing with the final stages of autumn preparation. Cheltenham can now focus on the condition of the turf and the effect of the weather in the run-up to 23 and 24 October, rather than attempting to combine that work with a major excavation programme.
Pullin said the course team had worked with turf-management and drainage specialists throughout the project. Cheltenham’s assessment is that the upgrade and recovery have progressed satisfactorily, while the radar survey has provided reassurance ahead of the season’s return.
Whether conditions on the day meet the racecourse’s aims will still depend on weather and ongoing maintenance, but the completed project gives Cheltenham a renewed drainage system beneath the home straight as it prepares to welcome racing back later this month.