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EQUESTRIAN


Exeter Racecourse


Racing thrives in its natural habitat


Jane Carley discusses the pioneering work being undertaken with padded hurdles at Exeter Racecourse with Clerk of the Course Barry Johnson and Head Groundsman Martin O’Hagan. So successful have they been, they have also been introduced into Wincanton Racecourse. But, as she discovers, there is much more going on at this West Country track


W


hilst epitomising the traditional spirit of jumps racing with its heathland track and cosy atmosphere, the team at


Exeter Racecourse are not afraid to pioneer new ideas.


Although the full archives were lost when the town was hit by the Blitz, surviving records chart horseracing in Exeter back to the 1660s. The current racecourse at Kennford, on the busy holiday route to Plymouth and beyond to south Cornwall, celebrates its 250th anniversary next year. The exacting ground standards for modern racing have shifted the programme away from summer to an October to May calendar, with seventeen all-jumps meetings per season. Exeter is considered by trainers as an ideal education for talented young horses, as a good ‘galloping track’ where most of the fences have an uphill approach. The flagship Haldon Gold Cup has a roll call of winners including Cue Card, Best Mate and Politologue, whilst the great Kauto Star suffered a rare defeat in the race. While most racegoers are dedicated jumps racing fans, family days play an increasingly important role, with November’s Sunday meeting even featuring a novelty race for Clydesdale heavy horses. “The area is heathland, and the course was constructed on peaty soil over stone and flint,” explains Clerk of the Course Barry


112 PC December/January 2019


Johnson, who is in his 38th year at Exeter and also oversees Wincanton. “The track drains really well, but the peaty nature of the soil means that the surface breaks up easily, so we have to manage it carefully.” This involves moving rail to fresh ground after every second meeting, whilst judicious infilling and ground improvements are key, says head groundsman Martin O’Hagan. “We have refurbished all the take-offs and landings in recent years, and use a sand and soil/peat divot mix to give a firmer base. In winter, the mix is 30% soil and 70% sand, whereas in spring it is 50/50. We’ve also drained wetter areas to get the water off the course and into the ditches.”


The move away from summer racing has also offered more flexibility, Barry explains: “We used to have a summer hurdle course on the inside, chase fences in the middle and winter hurdle course on the outside, but the chase fences have now been moved to the outside, which gives double the width for moving the hurdles across onto fresh ground.”


Extreme weather conditions in 2018 caused a few headaches - first a meeting was lost in January when an inch of rain fell in twenty-four hours, then repeated light snow falls in the run up to racedays cost two more fixtures in March. To add insult to injury, an October meeting was lost due to hard ground!


“There is no irrigation system as such,” comments Barry. “We can water with a


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