Historic Gold Cup a non-runner as deluge leaves course waterlogged

IT was first run in 1804 and has long been a landmark event in Scotland’s horse racing calendar.

But after seven inches of rain fell in only five weeks, the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup Festival has been cancelled for the first time ‘in living memory’.

The three-day event annually brings a vital cash boost worth millions of pounds to the local economy.

The title race was due to take place today but sections of the course are so waterlogged it has been axed.

Iain Ferguson, head of public relations at Ayr Racecourse, said: ‘Obviously it’s our biggest flat meeting of the year and second biggest of the year in Scotland.

‘It is hard to put a figure on it but it’s a considerable amount of money, probably into seven figures I’d say. It’s not just the racecourse itself, it’s the local community. It’s traditionally the second biggest weekend of the year in the area and the last hurrah of the summer.

‘After this weekend there’s nothing really for the local businesses – such as hoteliers and taxi drivers – until Christmas. People plan their holidays around this and it’s a local holiday as well, so it’s a massive blow.’

Mr Ferguson added: ‘The track was raceable on Wednesday but we had 17mm (two-thirds of an inch) overnight on Wednesday into Thursday and that was when the problem came, on the ground two and a half furlongs out. We’ve had seven inches of rain in the last five weeks.

‘The water table is particularly high. It’s as high as most locals can remember and I think it may be something as simple as reaching its tipping point.

‘It’s an ongoing thing. We had no option but to abandon today and tomorrow and we’re looking at it. Everything was done to make it raceable but it is not.’

Managing director David Brown said: ‘Everyone on the Ayr Racecourse team is devastated to lose Scotland’s biggest flat meeting. Unfortunately, after the unprecedented levels of rain we had no option but to abandon it.

‘This not only has an effect on everyone at the track but also to the area where this festival is one of the busiest weekends of the year.’