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The problems Bath seem to be having with their turf surprises me as it has long had a reputation for being an excellent (and ancient) tight, springy, resilient and luxuriant limestone downland sward that even when officially ‘hard’ is a forgiving surface for tendons and hooves
On the presumption that they haven’t messed around with this natural surface by installing an irrigation system, are the problems simply a result of too much racing causing lasting damage to the surface due to insufficient time being allowed for the turf to recover between meetings?
If so, it seems logical to conclude that the turf quality at other oft-raced courses is likely to be deteriorating too
What does the team think?
No irrigation system.
Racing does little damage normally, in any case downland turf is near impossible to repair by "traditional" peat and sand seeding.
Problem may be due to 2 months of drought in Spring following a Winter of record minus temperatures. A lot of the normal summer grass growth has remained near dormant and blade springiness turned to a parched brittleness.Turf at other courses is improving due to far better seed mixes and more regular drainage works together with properly measured irrigation.
That bend leaving the back straight was a problem area more than twenty years ago when I was a Bath member. I can’t remember any fallers, but there were certainly plenty of horses that ran wide there and the occasional slip. Fairly sure that was why Bath gave up running 7F races which started about a furlong before the bend.
Current management say that the problem is an adverse camber that has become more pronounced over the years – although they don’t explain how that could happen!
AP
Thank you gentlemen
Yes, the unusual winter and spring may have played its part. Wasn’t aware of (or had forgotten) the similar problems at Bath 20 years ago, so that being the case this season’s problems will not be causing undue concern, I guess
York’s turf has improved a lot since the drainage work and partial reseeding a couple of years ago, particularly round the back, though it was slow to get into full growth this year: the cold winter and dry spring again
Dave Saltman’s comments below. He is talking about reseeding but it has relevance for general growth of sports turf this year. Non-irrigated thin chalk soils at Bath would be adversely effected.
"In our Industry, each year brings along a new set of challenges. And, this year is no exception. Poor seed germination is not normally a problem here in the UK. We are spoilt for choice when it comes to the range and quality of cultivars available to us, and all have performed well in the past. And, of course, we are not short of water, normally.
However this year, I am hearing many reports about poor seed germination from all parts of the country.
The problem seems to be that the extent of the hydrophobic conditions have been underestimated by many. I know there has been plenty of rain recently in most areas, but that was after one of the driest springs on record. Even when rain has fallen, or irrigation used, a lot of the water has run off or evaporated rather than penetrate the soil. As a consequence the seed is being starved of moisture. I have been to quite a few venues recently where a simple soil sample will show a powder dry profile below the top few millimetres. It does make me wonder how some people expect seed to germinate and survive without provision of their No1 basic need…water.
Aeration and wetting agents will help resolve the problem, along with regular and copious amounts of water, but time is running out, particularly for those clubs trying to get their winter sports pitches in order before the start of the new season. I can’t imagine anything worse than going into the autumn/winter seasons with a sparsely grassed pitch."
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