Newbury have plenty of precautions in place to combat extreme heat

Simon Milham
August 11, 2022 3:38 pm

No problems envisaged for two-day meeting.

Newbury will add extra staff and more water stations ahead of their two-day meeting which begins on Friday.

Despite climbing temperatures and an Amber Heat Warning throughout much of Britain, the Berkshire track envisage no problems.

Clerk of the course Keith Ottersen said: “The temperature range is similar from Thursday through to Sunday, somewhere around 31C to 33C with potentially it peaking at 34C to 35C.

“There is nothing in doubt, as while we are in an Amber Heat Warning, everything is fine.

“Everybody is happy with the mitigations in place, with equine and cooling of the participants, keeping jockeys cool etc.

“From a horse welfare point of view, we have increased water stations and we have good water pressure.

“Horses will be cooled before and after racing. We will probably minimise the time in the parade ring prior to racing and keep the horses in shady areas.

“We may not use the winner’s enclosure. We might, but may not, so we can just unsaddle, cool them and get them away as soon as possible. We have added people to replenish, move water and get horses cooled as quickly as possible.”

Friday’s card features the Listed BetVictor St Hugh’s Stakes, while Saturday contains the Group Three Geoffrey Freer Stakes and the Group Two Hungerford Stakes.

A horse cooling down at Aintree (Steven Paston/PA)

Ottersen is happy with the forecast and says every measure has been put in place to keep the show on the road.

“We have increased the veterinary teams with assistants and nurses and we have increased the amount of staff we have around the stabling area, pre-parade and paddock areas,” he added.

“We have permanent misting fans here to keep everybody cool. The field sizes are very manageable, so there will be more people than horses to look after them.

“Sure, it is going to be warm, but along with the mitigation, the most important thing is at this stage, after having one of the hottest summers on record so far, that the horses are very well acclimatised to the heat.

“While it is still amber, we will be fine.”