The Going: Classic Preparation
Epsom Downs is known to many as the home of The Derby & Oaks. To Craig Williamson, it’s the office, along with fellow Jockey Club Racecourse Sandown Park, itself home to some of the sport’s elite races.
Q: Epsom Downs is such an iconic racecourse, but what are the characteristics that make it unique from a turf perspective?
Epsom’s biggest challenge is undoubtedly the Going conditions. The course is exceptionally free draining as it sits on chalk and can dry to the extent of a full degree of going within hours in the summer.
The famous undulations of Epsom can be challenging on horses, so our key objective for every fixture is providing safe going. This is particularly challenging for our annual two-day Derby Festival in June.
The eyes of the world are on Epsom Downs each June for The Derby Festival. The grounds team’s focus is on ensuring safe ground for the elite equine race on the challenging, undulating course (image courtesy of Jockey Club Racecourses)
Q: You’re never short of inspiration at Epsom and Sandown, but which other venues have you taken something from when preparing the surfaces?
We very much look to other racing venues for inspiration. Within the Jockey Club we have 14 other tracks to share ideas and innovations with, which we regularly do so.
We’re fortunate to have some of the country’s top stadia close by and willing to share advice, with Wimbledon, Twickenham, and Chelsea FC to name but a few.
Q: The challenges of the past year are well documented, but hosting The Derby Festival so soon after the restart must have been a significant task.
Without a doubt it was a huge challenge– the Festival is crucial to our industry. The race had to be run and at its rightful home.
Typically, Epsom has a team of six groundstaff to prepare the course, however in 2020 we were managing the site with two staff assisted by some of the Sandown Park team.
The timing of the fixture was another new element; it was postponed by a month from its traditional June date. This meant that we had to slow our preparations to get the course in peak condition at the correct time.
Finally, the Coral-Eclipse meeting was run at Sandown Park the day after so that required real planning and flexibility.
It was a Derby day like no other, but to see it all come together gave the team a real sense of achievement.
The hallowed turf: the winning line at Epsom on Derby Day is amongst the most valuable ground in the sporting world (image courtesy of Jockey Club Racecourses)
Q: #Groundsweek2021 is all about celebrating groundsmanship and encouraging more to take up the profession. In your opinion, what is the best part of being groundstaff?
A real team spirit exists amongst our grounds team; preparing a course for a raceday relies on everyone pulling together.
It is a wonderful working environment and undoubtedly the best office I’ve come across.
Q: What advice would you give to anyone starting out in the industry?
Being part of a grounds team can mean working long hours in all weathers and you have to be prepared to get very mucky!
Of course, you can get a great deal of personal, and team satisfaction out of working in this industry. If you have a passion for sport and racing, it can be extremely rewarding.
Tomorrow’s The Going features Hereford Racecourse. The full set of racecourse interviews will be available to view at the end of the week.
