Chepstow ‘could have lost meeting and main building’ after fire and flood which delayed Racing League card

Chepstow racecourse avoided “a disaster” when Thursday’s Racing League card was delayed due to a fire according to Arena Racing Company’s regional director for the South West Phil Bell.

After the opening mile handicap, won by Cabinet Of Clowns, had gone ahead as normal, a circuit board in the kitchen area caught fire, resulting in burst pipes flooding the weighing room.

Racing was delayed while the emergency services inspected the building but the 6f nursery, due off at 6pm, got under way 38 minutes after its scheduled start time. 

Saffie Osborne helped Chinese Knot follow up her success on the opening night of the competition at Yarmouth a fortnight ago.

“An electrical circuit board caught fire,” Bell told ITV racing after the seven-race card was completed with revised start times. “Luckily there were two water pipes next to it that burst and put the fire out. 

“The fire brigade told me if that hadn’t happened the building may have gone and we'd have a big problem. We may have lost the meeting and the building. Both would have been a disaster.

Jockeys relax during the 38-minute delay to racingCredit: JOHN GROSSICK

“We had a half-hour delay which I would have settled for at the time. When the fire brigade were coming, obviously we were in trouble. Thankfully those water pipes that were next to the circuit board saved the day.”

Wales and the West won last year’s Racing League and Thursday’s fixture was the region's first time hosting a Racing League fixture.

“There’s always a moment of panic when that happens,” Bell said. “It’s huge prize-money, it’s a big event for Chepstow and it was a worrying few minutes but I’ve got a very good team that sorted everything out. You have to stay calm and deal with it.”

The £100,000 finale started only ten minutes after its scheduled off time at 8.30pm and was won by the Richard Fahey-trained Ramazan.

Racing League’s founder Jeremy Wray said: “Of all the tracks, Chepstow is not an easy one to suddenly speed up the gaps between the races because the stables are a long way away. They’ve done a phenomenal job

“The judge has to be able to see the two-furlong pole but he clearly could and we got our big race away and a fantastic finish.”

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