Horses kept cool during three-day race event

Racecourse organisers said they were taking extra precautions to keep horses cool and hydrated in 30C heat during a three-day festival.

The Debenhams July Festival, held at Newmarket Racecourse in Suffolk, includes three days of horse racing leading up to the internationally significant July Cup on Saturday.

According to the Met Office, temperatures at the racecourse soared up to 31C (88F) on Friday and were expected to be in the high 20s during the weekend.

Andrew Morris, the head of racing at Newmarket Racecourse, said: "We worked with both the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and our own veterinary team... we are incredibly happy with the provisions put in place."

Two weeks ago races at the course started earlier in the day because of an amber heat warning.

Before each race the horses are kept in a shaded pre-parade ring and once they reach the finish line they are met by buckets of water, some used for drinking and others used to douse the animals with to keep them cool.

Colin Roberts, the senior veterinary officer at the BHA, has been assessing the horses as soon as they come off the course.

He said: "What we are looking for particularly in the heat is horses showing signs of heat stress which means the heat has built up too much for them and they show signs of being dull, being depressed, sometimes being staggery, sometimes getting a bit violent.

"If it's too hot then we don't go ahead. If it's a Met Office red warning then we stop racing but below that we deem it OK to race and we take precautions to cool the horses down."

Preparations for the horses start the day before, says Newmarket trainer Thady Gosden.

He said: "Thoroughbreds in general are descended from Arabians so they are used to warm temperatures.

"It's warm today [Friday] but it's not crazy hot and they race internationally around the world too and there will be hotter conditions there."

He said the welfare of the animals was the top priority and if this was compromised racing would not go ahead.

He said: "Some will have electrolytes, whether that's intravenous or orally the day before and, of course, here they are having cold showers to keep their temperatures where they should be and there's fans around the place and demisters."

For the meet to go ahead, Morris said they had worked with the BHA to follow the hot weather policy, which specifies if a red weather warning is in place racing is abandoned, however, if an amber warning is in place then discussions around provisions take place.

A number of provisions have also been brought in to keep members of the public safe.

He said: "[We] ask people to be sensible, let's wear hats, sun cream, drink lots of water... We've got air conditioning units we have hired for inside certain areas and fans in other areas.

"This is a really big festival for us and the biggest one we hold here on the July course... it's hugely important to both the town and area and all the team who work here."

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