Equestrian
N
ewbury is a racecourse of contrasts. From high octane Al Shaqab-sponsored flat racing giving clues to classic winners to one of the best loved and
longest-established national hunt meetings featuring the Hennessy Gold Cup. And from views over farmland by the round mile start to the cutting-edge architecture of new housing developments abutting the grandstands. By embracing diversity and change, independently-owned Newbury is assuring its future in times of uncertainty for racing. A joint venture with property developer
David Wilson Homes has seen two new apartment blocks spring up - named after racehorses Carruthers and Chatham - plus the relocation of the Rocking Horse Nursery to a state-of-the-art new building and, more recently, the replacement of a tired stable-
lads’ hostel with the Lodge, also used as a 36-bed public hotel. “We had to move the Estate Yard from
that area of the site, but this gave us the opportunity to build an improved facility,” explains Clerk of the Course Richard Osgood. This is something of an understatement.
The large, secure compound features a six bay L-shaped building which houses machinery and fence materials, bunkers for maintenance materials, plus additional containers for loose items such as spare rail. An open fronted, wide boarded barn at the end of the building stores birch for steeplechase fence building in the dry whilst allowing air to circulate. CCTV cameras guarding the site are
monitored on a screen in the head groundsman’s office, and the complex also includes a spacious, heated mess room for the grounds team.
Major machinery servicing is carried out
by local dealers and a whiteboard shows service reminders and points needing attention for every item of kit. There is a purpose-designed washdown
area with a sump which leads to a Hydroscape Systems Biochem 2000 water treatment plant; the diesel tank is also in this area so that any spills may be caught. Three Briggs irrigators - the largest of
which can cover 36m - can be stored under cover or outside. Mainstay of the machinery fleet are a pair
of Jacobsen HR9016 wide area mowers, with the older model now deployed for rough cutting, such as in the centre course. “They are lighter than tractor mounted
mowers and very easy to use,” comments Richard. “We recently had a test drive of the latest version and we like it very much, it’s even lighter and has plenty of power, despite
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