Cartmel gets the go-ahead Cartmel have been given the green light to race for the first time this year at the end of next month after tests for foot and mouth disease on local cattle by government vets drew a blank. The scheduled Bank Holiday meeting, due to take place on the August 25th and 27th, will go ahead after being given the all-clear by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Until recently the racecourse had been located in an infected foot and mouth area, and the popular May meeting had to be abandoned. However, recent testing of livestock nearby proved negative and plans are now under way for staging the two-day August meeting. The massive crowds that normally visit Cartmel on both days will be a major boost to the Lake District economy, and local guest houses and hotels will be getting themselves prepared for late bookings now that the meeting has been confirmed. Charles Barnett, Cartmel`s clerk of the course, said today: 'We are delighted thatthe two-day meeting will be taking place. The Cartmel area has been a victim of the appalling foot and mouth disease that has hit so many countryside areas this year. 'However, we have been in close consultation with the government and are relieved that the testing that has taken place within the close vicinity has proved negative.'
