Flat racing will return to Southwell on Friday November 24, live on Sky Sports Racing, after the flood-stricken track was given the thumbs up in a trial morning on Thursday.
The Tapeta surface passed a British Horseracing Authority (BHA) inspection with flying colours less than a month after it was left swamped in the wake of Storm Babete.
All-Weather and National Hunt action at the Nottinghamshire track will take place behind closed doors until the spectator facilities ravaged by the flood can be fully refurbished.
Mark Clayton, Southwell’s executive director, said: “It’s great to get the go-ahead to resume so soon. We haven’t raced here since October 10 but are proud of what we’ve been able to turn round in such a short window.
“The resumption of racing is the first stage, then beyond that we’ll be working very hard to get the public back on site as soon as possible.”
Champion All-Weather trainer Mick Appleby and senior jockey PJ McDonald were among those taking part in the trials over three different distances – the straight five furlongs, seven furlongs and a-mile-and-three-furlongs.
Appleby, whose horses were worked by stable jockeys Ali Rawlinson and Fred Larson, said he was delighted with the surface. “I didn’t expect them to get racing back on as fast as this. My riders thought it rode very well and I can’t wait to start having runners here again.”
McDonald, the jockeys’ northern safety officer, praised the hard work put in by Arena Racing Company (ARC), the ground staff at Southwell and US-based Tapeta Holdings. “It’s been some effort to get the track ready and I can’t fault it. It rode very well and the temporary facilities they’re creating for the jockeys are excellent.”
A weighing room featuring all the usual facilities for jockeys will be housed in a marquee on the paddock lawn adjacent to the parade ring, while stable staff and owners will be catered for on the first floor of the grandstand.
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The £4.5m track, which opened two years ago, was left under 18 inches of water when the nearby River Greet burst its banks on the evening of October 20, breaching the site’s flood defences.
The offices, weighing room, stable staff canteen and racecourse stables were submerged to a depth of three feet and resident trainer Scott Dixon had to evacuate 40 horses to his satellite base at Wolverhampton.
It was the third time the track had flooded. In 2007 it closed for five months and was out of action for three months a decade ago before flood alleviation work was carried out.