Leopardstown Racecourse

The challenges

Having experienced increasingly heavy rainfall over the last few years, the racecourse at Leopardstown had been put under some considerable strain, which resulted in the cancellation of the occasional race within a meeting. As a long-established client of STRI, consultations with the Leopardstown team had included discussions concerning the limitations of the existing drainage and improvement works that could be achieved.

Having identified the sole reason for race cancellations was the status of the drainage, it was imperative that this was addressed going forward. It was agreed that an entirely new pipe and slit drainage system would be installed in a series of gallops. However, the work would need to be completed in three stages over an agreed timeframe, to allow racing to continue on one half of the track during the period of redevelopment and also to monitor the ongoing performance of the course.

The objectives

• To improve the drainage, uniformity and surface performance.
• To establish a sustainable track which is capable of withstanding extremities of weather and avoid future concellations.
• To provide overall management of the project from initial feasibility study and specification through to monitoring and project completion.
• To complete the project within critical deadlines.

The solutions

Preparatory agronomic assessments took place and an initial feasibility study was prepared in May 2010. Results of the study showed that the fence track had been more greatly affected than the hurdles, and that the areas requiring the most work were localised. However, to guard against any acute changes to the ‘going’ a more uniform approach was taken, with work being undertaken in whole sections. Once a specification had been completed by STRI, work was tendered out to contractors, with STRI taking responsibility for the overall management of the project.

Work commenced on the first phase of the project in July 2010 by marking out the site and scalping the turf. The primary main (lateral pipe) drain was installed using a unique laser guided Mastenbroek trencher, which has the capacity to excavate ground and install drainage in one pass, which is ideal for working on a flat surface. The lateral pipe drains were reinforced by backfilling, using a drainage aggregate which comprised of soil, sand and compost. A secondary (slit) drainage system was installed above this at one metre spacing, to provide an additional buffer. A key part of the operation was to drive over the area to ensure that the backfill over the lateral and slit drainage had adequately firmed up. STRI recommended that a sequence of top-ups, filling and grading be undertaken, to eradicate any dips present in the backfill, thereby negating any potential for depressions to appear later on in the surface.

A programme of oversowing was established, which was largely accomplished by employing the Disc/Stitch seed method, with the lateral drains being seeded additionally using a BLEC Cultipacker Seeder. Once this programme had been completed, the whole area was fertilised, prior to
the commencement of the ‘grow in’ phase. A combination of water techniques were introduced to keep the surface as damp as possible whilst the seed was germinating over the lateral drains. To achieve this, the racecourse  was part-watered using an umbilical watering system, in conjunction with a tractor built to spray water – an old fashioned, but highly effective technique.

The first phase of the construction took place over a three to four week period with STRI, contractors and staff at the racecourse working long hours and seven-day weeks to meet deadline. It was essential that prior to the completion of this work, that each individual lateral drain be tested by STRI for softness. The racecourse was seeded mid-August 2010 and was proved successful during one of the most important events of Leopardstown’s racing calendar – the four-day Christmas Festival, by which point the seeding had fully matured.

The second phase of the work, involving drainage works on a separate area of the course, is being completed in 2011 and phase three implemented in 2012.

Good cover over the drained back straight

The results

• First phase of drainage works successfully completed toproject deadline.
• New drainage systems provide a sustainable surface,enabling quick recovery.
• Improvements to the overall performance quality of the track.
• Client extremely happy with the results and ongoing works.