Racing:Fairyhouse faces a bill of up to €500,000 for remedial work and track closure after damage caused from drainage work carried out on the inner track at the Co Meath venue last spring.
The Winter Festival will go ahead the weekend after next as it is run on the outer track, but Fairyhouse have already lost their December 2nd meeting, with the card now scheduled to be run 24 hours earlier at Navan.
The problem came to light two weeks ago when a meeting was cancelled at the track after four races following complaints from senior jockeys about the safety of the track.
The Irish Turf Club have launched an investigation into the incident and also confirmed that a report into a recent similar incident at Wexford is almost complete.
According to this morning’s Racing Post, the problem is linked to a piece of machinery used on both courses to break up compaction underneath the top soil.
Speaking to the Racing Post, Irish Turf Club chief executive Denis Egan admitted his concern at two incidents coming so close together.
“In light of what’s happened we are going to take a more hands-on approach with the racecourses in relation to any work carried out, to make sure it is done to the highest standards,” said Egan.
“If there’s a machine causing problems we have to get to the bottom of it and have to make sure it is not used again.”
Fairyhouse acting manager, Peter Roe, confirmed that work had already commenced on repairing the damage to the inner track.
“We inspected the course and found four main areas of false ground. It was agreed the track was unfit for racing and will remain so until drainage works take place, when suitable ground conditions arise, which is unlikely to happen until spring 2011.”