Mystery surrounds a hole in Haydock’s racecourse with investigations continuing to try and find the cause.
Three races at the track were abandoned on its Saturday card on May 23 due to the problem – and bosses are no closer to setting a date for racing to resume.
Meetings scheduled for Friday and Saturday this week were moved to Wolverhampton and Carlisle respectively, while a team of experts were called in to probe the issue.
Clerk of the course Daniel Cooper said the work began on Tuesday and five days on, it is not known when fixtures at the Jockey Club-owned venue will be back on.
“I think it’s too soon to discuss those fixtures because we are taking this as an investigation at the moment. It’s frustrating certainly for me not to have an answer yet,” he told ITV Racing.
“These things do not happen overnight. We need a little bit more time to understand the cause and then we should be able to plan ahead accordingly.”
Haydock’s next fixture is scheduled for June 20, when Tom Grennan, who had a hat-trick of number one albums last summer, is due to perform.
“A few more answers certainly to come but thank you very much for joining us this morning.” presenter Megan Nicholls told Cooper.
“We really look forward to getting back to Haydock as soon as possible and fingers crossed it will be the last of any issues you do have to worry about.”
On the day the hole was discovered, racing was delayed for 90 minutes after the John and Thady Gosden-trained Friendly Soul was pulled up during the first race.
Participants considered whether the card could continue after it was found in the surface near the two-furlong pole.
After much deliberation, the stewards abandoned three races on the round course and allowed the sprint races to be transferred to the inner track.
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Tickets are available to purchase for all enclosures at the scheduled Tom Grennan event next month.
In a Q&A with The Jockey Club, the singer of “Little Bit of Love” said playing outdoors in the better weather “feels like a festival.”
He added he is yet to have any luck at the races. “I’ve never had a winner,” he said. “Never, ever – never. I’m not really a betting man, to be honest. I just pick a name that I like and hope for the best.”