The Elwick Thoroughbred track is drawing near the end of its current racing campaign with only two scheduled race meetings remaining before the track enters into an extended break for Spring renovations. The two remaining scheduled meetings are programmed on July 25th & August 8th. After the break for Spring renovations, Thoroughbred racing will return to Elwick on 16 October.
The track currently boasts an excellent cover of grass for the current time of year with the presentation of the track continuing to be very good. In the past few months the progress of the Elwick track is considered to be satisfactory. The performance, stability and regeneration of turf coverage from race meetings has met expectations.
There are still some maintenance challenges that lie ahead relating to the unwanted shallow rooted Poa annua turf species that has populated some areas of the track. This will be aggressively treated during the Spring renovation. In addition the moderate aerobic layering in the surface of the track will also be addressed during the renovation. Both these issues are currently impeding the development of the turf root system. Other tasks that will be carried out include coring, re-seeding, topdressing and fertilising. This should deliver a significantly improved racing surface for the spring and summer racing.