Bath ready to reopen next Wednesday with the track in 'great condition' after being forced to give up a fixture last week

Racing will return to Bath next Wednesday after the track sacrificed a fixture last week to help the course's recovery following a stint of dry and hot weather.

Bath does not have a watering system but course officials have been using bowsers to irrigate the track. Clerk of the course Ben Hicks said the track is in "great condition" after a three-week break. 

A dry spring added pressure on the condition of the track with Bath measuring just 68mm of rain in March, April and May. That is about 20 per cent of the rainfall recorded in the same timeframe in 2024.

Its meeting last Wednesday was moved to Chepstow, which, like Bath, is owned by Arena Racing Company, but there are no concerns regarding next week's six-race afternoon card.

Hicks said: "We transferred the last fixture to Chepstow as we wanted to give the track the recovery time it needed after the dry spring. It meant we'd had three weeks without racing so we could focus on watering. 

"Recovery is really evident and we've got a level, fair track with excellent grass coverage. The break has done the world of good.

"We've got signs of possible showers but we'll carry on watering and reading the moisture levels on a daily basis. We're going into a hot period now but in a good position, we're good to firm currently and the track is in great condition."

Bath had to abandon all fixtures after mid-July in 2022 after a hot and dry start to the season, but Hicks expressed confidence in avoiding further issues this year.

He added: "We've got a good routine with wetting agents, trialling different seeds and moving rails to provide the best and most recovered running line when we can. It helps us maintain the standard of surface we want.

"We're in early July so it's early to be confident for definite, but we continue to monitor and plan ahead. We're well aware the majority of the summer is left, but there are good signs in the forecast that low pressure is building and things are going to change."

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