NEWS
COURSE TO COURSE A look at stories in the news from racecourses across Europe.
New unsaddling enclosure at Royal Ascot The creation of an enhanced unsaddling area, costing £700,000, will be completed for the forthcoming Royal meeting at Ascot and the days of the crowded scenes of horses being unsaddled beneath the underpass, with little space between them, are to become a welcome thing of the past. Instead, a new oval lawn will merge into the existing landscaping of the pre-parade ring layout, facilitating an unsaddling enclosure within the surrounding hospitality lawns, enabling horses and their connections to return to a much more suitable environment post-race. “The big runner races at the Royal meeting were always a challenge,” said Alastair Warwick, Ascot’s Head of Operations, “so we conducted a survey with a view to looking into an alternative unsaddling area and the feedback we received from that was the key driving force. When we had a 34-runner race, there were a lot of horses to fit in under the underpass.” The new area will increase the space to accommodate the number of horses that run in races such as the Wokingham Handicap and Royal Hunt Cup more comfortably
An artist’s impression of the new unsaddling enclosure at Royal Ascot
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and thereby improve equine welfare, as well as enhancing the owner’s and trainer’s race day experience. “Every owner wants to fetch their friends to come and see their horse after the race,” Warwick explained. “Whether they win or lose, having a runner at Royal Ascot is one of the biggest days of their lives and they all want that photo with the bucket of water after the race. That’s the reality of it and core to the new area.” As well as improving what, for many, may be a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, the new unsaddling enclosure lawn has been carefully positioned to benefit from maximum shade from the crown of an existing mature tree alongside it, as well as a repositioned tulip tree, and equine misting fans will also be available, so it will provide the perfect cooling-off area for unplaced horses. It is also hoped that the gradual curves of the walkways, coupled with improved
landscaping, will make for a more visually elegant route for the Royal Procession before it turns into the Parade Ring and it will be a welcoming space for the connections of runners to return to after the excitement of the race, where they can greet their horse in safety and comfort and chat with their trainer and jockey. Guy Henderson, Chief Executive at Ascot, commented, “The new unsaddling area recognises that the old area needed improvement. This will provide a much better end to races for connections.”