Paddle your own canoe! Kayaks race at Worcester with racecourse still submerged

Kayaks rather than horses have been battling to finish first past the winning post at Worcester where the majority of the course is still under water.

Members of the Worcester Canoe Club were spotted racing up the home straight as further rainfall ensured around 70 per cent of the course remains submerged.

Flooding at the Arena Racing Company-owned track, where the home straight is adjacent to the River Severn, began on February 14 with the stable yard on the opposite side of the course also affected in the past week, although flood levels have started to recede in that area.

Worcester’s clerk of the course Tim Long said: “We saw marginal improvement towards the end of last week and the river level was going down quite nicely, but further rain over the weekend has meant the river level has risen again and we’re around 70 to 80 per cent under water.

“The river level is predicted to peak late Wednesday and then start improving from then. At the lowest part of the course, the flood level is around four feet and over the running rail, while the stable yard flooded last week but that has gone down and we’ve started the clean up process.

“The positive signs are the areas that have now lost the water look okay bar being sodden. The grandstand didn’t have any water ingress and there was a bit of flooding in the weighing room, but it was nothing that can’t get sorted.”

Worcester’s first meeting of the year is scheduled for April 24 and past experience offers hope to course officials for the racing surface not to be severely affected.

Worcester: home straight runs adjacent to the River SevernCredit: Edward Whitaker

Long said: “It’s been really quite frustrating as we had a flood in December then the track came clear and we were on the track slitting and verti-draining in the last couple of weeks. This flooding has set us right back again though.

“It will take another four or five days after the peak on Wednesday before we lose all the water and then, once it gets dry enough, we’ll get on with the work.

“The biggest issue with serious flooding is when the grass is active as it really suffocates the grass and it dies. But what we’ve learned is when flooding happens in the winter, when the grass is inactive, the grass seems to cope with it quite well.

“The main thing will be to get some air into the soil as it causes so much compaction that if you don’t alleviate the compaction the grass will die inside. It will be great when we have some dry weather and we can get out there."

Jump racing in Britain will be absent until Wednesday unless Catterick, covered in an inch of snow on Monday morning, passes an inspection at 8am on raceday morning on Tuesday.

Market Rasen, Musselburgh and Wincanton are scheduled to host jumps action on Wednesday.

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