Mowing
During the main growing season, i.e. April to September, the grass will typically be cut on two occasions per week, with the last cut of each week being two days before the race day.
The height of cut will be between 65 - 100mm, with a typical grass height of 100mm (to 112mm for additional cushioning, if required) being aimed for on the day of a race.
Either a cylinder gang mower or rotary mower will be used to cut the grass, with the clippings let fly. If clumps of grass are present following the course being cut, then these will need to be dispersed to prevent the sward being smothered.
The track posts will also need to be strimmed throughout the growing season to maintain a neat appearance. A final short strim around October / November should be adequate to last the winter months, so that another strim around the posts is not required until March.
Aeration
Slit or chisel tining may be undertaken on a monthly basis, although during the summer when the soil can be relatively dry the tines may have trouble penetrating the soil to any reasonable depth.
The main layer of compaction is from 70 - 150mm below the surface, with the bulk density of this soil layer typically being some 20% greater than the surface 70mm layer. It is therefore important to ensure that the depth of aeration penetrates this compacted layer.
Verti-draining, or other deep spiking, may be undertaken either during the spring (March for National Hunt racing) or early autumn (for Flat racing) when soil conditions are neither too wet or dry for maximum soil penetration and shattering.
Compressed air forced into the soil may also be a suitable means of aeration on a course, as will be a turf conditioner (such as a Twose turf conditioner).
The amount and type of aeration will depend not only on the number of races but also the soil type and the time of year that aeration work is to be carried out. It may, for example, be found that a mechanical soil conditioner is preferred when the course is being renovated.
Less compaction, on average, will be caused during the Flat season as the soil conditions are drier than during the autumn-winter period for the jumping season when the moist soil particles are more easily 'squeezed' together.
Additional aeration may also be required over the route of where any starting stalls have been pulled onto the course.
Rolling
The use of a Cambridge ring roller (weighing 1¼ to 1½ tonnes) can be used to firm the course and also to stripe it where the use of a mower has not occurred.
Care should be taken not to use the roller in unsuitable ground conditions as this will compact the soil unnecessarily and reduce the drainage of the course. This can have a significant negative impact on the suitability of the course for racing during the winter months and inappropriate use will lead to cancellations and loss of revenue.
Harrowing
A chain harrow can be used to either produce a well striped surface (with the tines pointing upwards), especially when mowing is not being carried out, or provide a scarification of the sward if the tines are pointing downwards. This latter operation effectively tears out loose and weak grass as well as dead basal sheaths.
A spring tine harrow can also be used and this can be adjusted to either penetrate lightly into the soil surface or just to stripe the sward for cosmetic purposes.
Irrigation
Irrigation is important to maintain a surface that provides a uniform firmness over the whole course; horses require a consistency of surface hardness to reduce the potential for mishap and injury.
Irrigation is used to control and influence the 'going' of the course; however, careful judgement is needed in assessing the weather conditions when planning irrigation requirements as a heavy downpour following applied irrigation may change the 'going' from firm to soft.
The frequency of irrigation will depend upon soil type and weather conditions, but daily watering during the summer period, and dry spells outside of this, on sandy soils may be required.
Care should be taken not to overwater the racecourse as not only will the 'going' be soft but annual meadow grass will be encouraged. This is undesirable as it is easily kicked out of the sward producing an increasingly worn area which requires more divoting.
Irrigation will typically be either through a system of automatic pop-ups or through the use of a long length of hose pipe and large agricultural sprinkler gun.
Where movable sprinklers are used, water/irrigation hydrants will be installed and may be spaced at 400m intervals or so. A length of hose up to 200m would be required to ensure adequate coverage between the hydrants.
Fertiliser
The main fertiliser programme will aim to provide about 8 - 10 g/N per m² over the year and this will typically consist of either:
- Two granular feeds: March/April and August/early September; or
- Regular granular and liquid feeds, of smaller applications, throughout the growing season.
An example of the first type may be:
- March/April: 10-20% N (for example 20% N @ 25 g/m² = 5 g/N/m²)
- August/early September: 10% N (@ 25 g/m² = 2.5 g/N/m²)
If the ground is in need of a boost during June/July then a liquid feed, with a low content of Nitrogen, would be applied. For example, this could be 6% N @ 20 g/m², providing 1.2 g/N/m².
An example of the second type of fertiliser programme may be:
- March: 4% N (@ 25 g/m² = 1 g/N/m²)
- April: 8% N (@ 50 g/m² = 4.0 g/N/m²)
- June: 8% N (@ 35 g/m² = 2.8 g/N/m²)
- August: 8% N (@ 35 g/m² = 2.80 g/N/m²)
Weed Control
The main pesticide applied to a racecourse will be a selective herbicide. Weeds can produce a more slippery surface than narrow-leaved grasses and this could be a safety concern for horses, especially if a large contingent of weeds was present in a small area of the course.
A course that consists mainly of desirable grasses will, arguably, be more visually attractive than a course with various weeds and their flowers being present.
Pest Control
The main pests that need controlling on a racecourse are rabbits and moles.
Rabbits burrow into or scrape the ground producing potentially dangerous holes for horses. In addition rabbits can nibble the grass during the early spring before strong growth takes place, which can result in thin and unattractive areas of turf.
Moles produce underground runs and mounds of soil where they surface. Depressions on the surface above a run can be a serious hazard for horses if their hooves come into contact with the area above a run. Mole hills also need dispersing and the holes filled in.
Disease Control
Disease is not a particular problem on racecourse grasses. These surfaces are not as intensively maintained as golf or bowling greens (which can be susceptible to a range of diseases) and are generally only affected by superficial disease damage.
Fairy ring damage may be a 'problem', but this is typically only the Type 2 or 3 which produces more of a cosmetic effect on turf than anything serious to kill off the grass.
Top-dressing
Over the course of the year a significant amount of top-dressing can be applied to a racecourse, either through regular divoting or renovation.
The amount of usage and type of existing soil and sward will impact on the quantity of top-dressing material required, as will the width and length of the course. A very general guide, however, is for 50 tonnes of material to be applied per mile of course per racing season.
Post-Race Repairs
A number of tasks will need to be carried out to reinstate the turf to a suitable standard. Typically this will be completed within 48 hours and will consist of the following:
- Harrow the course in the opposite direction to that of the horses to assist dragging attached divots back into place;
- Aerate to at least 150mm depth;
- Follow this with a light rolling;
- Hand fork heavily disturbed areas and
- Divot the course by filling hoof marks by hand, using a sandy soil, typically shovelled from a trailer, and treading the divots down by foot.
Casual labour is used for this large task of divoting and anything from 10 - 50 staff may be involved in this operation.
Grass seed may have already been premixed by a groundsman with the sandy soil and also pregerminated to aid initial establishment.
A typical seed mixture to use (for a parkland type course) in a divot mixture is 80% perennial ryegrass and 20% strong creeping red fescue; however, a number of other species will also be used depending upon the nature of the racecourse.
The sandy soil used in the divot mixture will typically range from a "60:40" to an "80:20" (i.e. parts sand to parts soil).
Following divoting, the course will be irrigated (during the growing season) to ensure the repair work establishes in as short a time period as possible.
Spreading Wear
Wear will be fairly localised and regular over a course.
Either side of the jumps/hurdles (for National Hunt courses) will be particularly worn and compacted, whilst around most of a course wear will occur within 3 metres or so of the inside rails.
Wherever possible move the rails to help spread wear over the length of the season.
End of Season Renovation
End of season renovation may include a final divoting as per the post race repairs, but will also include the following
- scarification to open the surface a little,
- deep aeration,
- shorter cut (60 - 75mm) to the grass to expose thin and bare areas,
- possible fertiliser application, depending upon the condition of the turf and the main fertiliser programme that had been undertaken,
- an overseeding of thin and bare areas, possibly with a contravator or similar,
- a rolling with a ringed roller to firm the seed into the surface, and finally
- irrigation (if required) of the whole renovated area to aid seed germination.
National Hunt courses are renovated in the spring and rested over the summer months, whilst Flat racing courses will typically have regular renovation carried out as part of the maintenance programme over the spring and summer and will be renovated September - October.
Other
Fences/jumps have to be repaired and shaped to ensure they have an even smooth top so as not to injure horses jumping over them.
Rails may be taken down at the end of a racing season and stored around the machinery and storage buildings; alternatively they may be kept up throughout the whole of the year.
The surrounds to the racecourse should not be neglected. This will include providing flower beds, shrub borders, hanging baskets etc. especially around the spectator stands and course entrances. In addition manicured lawns will also be required and these help to enhance the whole setting and racing experience for the racegoer.
References
- Shildrick, J. (~1984), 'Turfgrass Manual', STRI, 34 & 49
- Franks, J. (1988), 'Racecourse turf management and the grasses required to obtain a good surface', The Institute of Groundsmanship & Jockey Club Seminar 20 September
- Evans, R.D.C. (1993), 'Racecourse maintenance. Aiming to stay on a good track', Parks & Sports Grounds (April), 6-10
- Adams, W.A. & Gibbs, R.J. (1994),'Natural Turf for Sport and Amenity: Science and Practice', CAB International, 329-353
- Rose, M. (1994), 'Sports Focus: Racecourse Groundsmanship', The Groundsman, (June) 15
- Lawson, D.M. (1996), 'Fertilisers for Turf', STRI, 38
- Pulford, N. (1997), 'Horse Trials', Turf Management, (October) 20-22
- Winter, P. (1998), 'Racing into the future to keep the going good', Turfgrass Bulletin, STRI, (April - Issue 200) 13-16
- Middleton, S. (2003), 'Dead Cert', The Groundsman, (June) 26-29
- Middleton, S. (2004), 'Fast track for a winner', The Groundsman, (June) 10-11