SLIGO Racecourse hopes to begin its 2017 season belatedly on June 20th due to damage to the racing surface caused by drainage work.

The track was allocated eight fixtures this year but the first two (April 30th and May 22nd) have already been cancelled.

“Ongoing remedial work” was the reason for the cancellations cited by the Turf Club, while a short statement issued by racecourse manager Kathryn Foley said: “Due to poor weather conditions the ground has not healed sufficiently to enable racing [on May 22nd]. The situation is being reviewed on an ongoing basis but as of now in the interest of safety we will not proceed with that meeting.”

Foley said yesterday: “It’s unfortunate that we’ve lost the first two meetings this season but we are on track to be racing again on June 20th. After work was done to the drainage system, the weather hasn’t helped us as it just hasn’t heated up enough here on the west coast. I am sure however, we will see the long-term benefits to the work that has been done on the track.”

Asked to elaborate on the situation, a Turf Club spokesperson said: “Remedial work was carried out in the early part of the year and it has taken longer than expected for the ground to recover. The situation is being monitored and everything possible is being done to get racing back.”

MEDIA RIGHTS

Like all racecourses, Sligo receives over €5,000 in media rights per race staged, so every fixture lost has a severe financial impact. Last year Sligo embarked on a €2 million development plan which is due to run over four years and is 40% funded by HRI.

Many racecourses use future media rights income as collateral when securing bank loans to finance development work. As Sligo only races during the summer months the loss for them is more severe than for a track which races all year round.

Foley said: “It was a big blow financially to lose our first two meetings of the season but we’re confident we can sustain that over time.”

The April 30th meeting has already been reallocated to Limerick on that date and a HRI spokesman said it will hold off on rescheduling the May 22nd meeting until more information comes to light.

“With the uncertainty over Sligo we will probably wait until mid-May to see if that meeting can be rescheduled for Sligo or if it needs to be transferred. We’ll try to do the best for everybody, as well as Sligo, to make sure that opportunities to race are not lost.”

Racing in Sligo received some good publicity this month when locally-born jockey Derek Fox won the Aintree Grand National on One For Arthur. Two years ago Sligo Racecourse made national headlines when Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, attended the races there.