The parade ring scene behind closed doors at Dundalk last month© Photo Healy Racing
Dundalk Racecourse Chief Executive Jim Martin reports that initial work has started on resurfacing Ireland’s only all-weather track and is on schedule to host their fixture on July 12 providing the current COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
“The job was planned to start after our fixture on April 22. Work on the track has commenced and we are starting to strip off the old surface. The first load of new material has arrived at Dundalk port.
“We said that we would have it done by June 15 and are well on target for that so we can race on July 12. The month period before starting racing here again will give everyone the chance to have a look and to have trial runs with horses galloping on it,” said Martin.
He added, “This is the time of the year to get work done on all-weather tracks. It’s more pliable in the heat and easier to manage. It’s also easier to work longer days with the light, while if it’s wet the wax tightens up and it’s not as easy to work with.”
The all-weather track at Dundalk was opened in 2007 but remedial work was carried out last August following some criticism of the surface from trainers and jockeys.
Martin subsequently received plenty of positive feedback saying, “We put 54 tonnes of fibre on the surface and everyone was very happy including a number of all-weather track experts. We had a record number of runners per race after the work was done, and when you see Aidan (O’Brien) coming to gallop Group 1 horses and Derby winners it speaks for itself.”
However, a decision to totally replace the Polytrack surface was already made the previous month and is on course to be completed by the middle of June.
Martin outlined the extent of the project saying, “It will take 12,000 tonnes of fibre to complete the track. It’s manufactured by Martin Collins in Warrington in the UK and is transported from Liverpool port to Dundalk port. The total cost of the project is approximately €2.5m.
“It’s a lot more cost effective having it shipped so close into Dundalk and transported out to the track rather than being transported around the country.”
Martin would like to see a lot more meetings at Dundalk, and believes the track could play a very important role later this year given the current cancellation of racing due to coronavirus.
“We have 38 fixtures in the year and are the least used all-weather track in the world. If we did happen to get very wet weather later in the year from say October to December and the turf tracks got very soft, I could see a lot of trainer’s saying why don’t we race three times a week in Dundalk to give horses an opportunity to run.”
In these uncertain times there are a lot of pressures on nearly every facet of business life and funding of the racing industry is no different as Martin alluded to.
“We could be racing behind closed doors for a long time if this disease continues to be out there in the population. The media rights deal is also a big issue as it depends on the number of betting offices that are open in the UK and Ireland.
“When the stakes were reduced on FOBT’s (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals) shops were closed but not as many as some predicted. The shops are now all closed and down the line some of the big bookmaker firms may look at their business model and decide to close more.
“We have signed a contract to go ahead with resurfacing the track and have paid a half a million deposit. We have to go ahead with it now and we just hope that the industry recovers.”
Two of the ten Irish meetings held behind closed doors last month were at Dundalk, and Martin added: “The meetings we held behind closed doors went very well. We had cleaners in wiping everything down both before and during racing. People were keeping their social distance, and everyone took the protocols very seriously.
“It is very hard to see 30,000 people in Galway at the end of July but it is the same for every sport. Numbers will have to be restricted while this situation continues.
“It would be great to get back to normal but at the moment just to get back racing is the first step. We lost a meeting in March and four in April, so hopefully we will be back racing for our fixture on July 12.”
