Overview
- A hole appeared on Haydock’s outer course during racing on Saturday, May 23, when Friendly Soul stumbled and was pulled up, prompting a 90-minute safety inspection, three abandoned races and sprint races to be moved to the inner circuit.
- A Tuesday inspection found the inner track had been used too heavily to recover to acceptable safety standards, so Haydock cancelled the two-day fixture set for Friday 29 and Saturday 30 May.
- External drainage specialists and agronomists are on site examining the outer-course failure while Haydock and the British Horseracing Authority are coordinating repairs and plans to reschedule the affected races.
- Five races from the disrupted card had been due to be shown live on ITV, including key Royal Ascot sprint trials, creating immediate disruption for trainers, owners, jockeys, broadcasters, bettors and spectators.
- Racecourse officials say surface integrity and drainage are the priority and further updates on the cause of the hole and the revised calendar will follow once investigations and remediation progress.