'We'd love some luck' - Newton Abbot counting the cost of coronavirus pandemic

Newton Abbot is among the British racecourses counting the immense cost of the coronavirus pandemic and faces an uncertain summer after losing its opening two fixtures of the season.

The suspension of racing until the end of April has been a particularly cruel blow for the independent track, which was forced to cancel four of its 18 jumps fixtures due to waterlogging last year.

Its opening meeting was scheduled to take place on April 11 and despite suffering a difficult start to the year, managing director Pat Masterson is hopeful the track will be able to weather the storm.

"It's been really difficult," he said. "We lost four meetings last year and we've already lost our biggest fixture this season, and a second one that was also due to take place next month.

Daily update to help racing industry personnel through the financial crisis

"Racing won't be back until the end of April but that seems highly unlikely and we've got three meetings in May we may lose. We've got no real income coming in at the moment.

"The frustrating thing is it's difficult to plan. We just need to try to make sure there's a racecourse to come back to when racing returns.

"We're looking ahead to the summer. The groundstaff are on the track, which was waterlogged since September. It's difficult times and hopefully we can ride it out and start again as soon as possible.

"We'd love some luck. Our last meeting was on September 20 and ever since then we've had horrible rain. Now we've got a change of weather, are getting the track ready, and we can't race."

Like most racecourses, Newton Abbot is reliant on a number of other revenue streams, including hosting events such as antiques fairs and running a catering business, as well as an on-site nursery.

Pat Masterson: Newton Abbot managing director

More than 200 staff are employed by the track throughout the year, with many brought in for racedays, and it has already been forced to furlough some members of its permanent staff.

"We have a nursery open with children of key workers but everything else has stopped. A lot of our staff have been put on furlough. We own a catering business but can't do that," said Masterson.

"Apart from me in the office we've just got groundstaff. Talking to people at other independent and larger tracks it seems to be a similar situation across the country.

"The government has said it's helping small businesses but when you look at the details it's not as easy to access as people imagined. That's been borne out by the situation with self-employed people.

"My responsibility is to the care of my staff first and foremost and that's what we're focusing on. There will unfortunately be a long time off for a number of employees until the return of racing."

'I absolutely love the place'

Newton Abbot is an established staging post in the summer jumps calendar and for Nigel Hawke, who trains less than an hour away in Stoodleigh, Tiverton, the track means an awful lot more.

"I started going there when I was very young. I rode there and so did my grandfather and father," said Hawke, who has held back a number of horses to run over the summer.

"It's my local track and I absolutely love the place. The decision to focus on summer racing has worked really well for them and fingers crossed it can make a swift return and come back stronger."

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