SportHorse racingHaydock RacecourseThree races were abandoned last Saturday and the rest of the card switched to the inner track after a hole was discovered during the first race14:46, 26 May 2026Updated 14:49, 26 May 2026Haydock Park said ‘sorry’ on Tuesday after being forced to cancel two race fixtures on Friday and Saturday this week.‌Last Saturday, the big ITV card, which featured two key Royal Ascot sprint trials, suffered significant disruption after a hole emerged on the outer stretch of its two Flat tracks.‌Racing was delayed for 90 minutes as inspections took place and officials decided whether racing could continue after the John and Thady Gosden-trained Friendly Soul was pulled up after stumbling during the first race. Closer examination revealed an elbow-deep hole in the surface near the 2f pole.‌As a result stewards abandoned three races on the round course and allowed the sprint races to be transferred to the inner track, which had been in use for racing on two previous days.READ MORE: Classic-winning jockey Tony Ives dies in Thailand after lengthy health battleREAD MORE: Jockey launched out of the saddle like a catapult after horse stumbles during raceHaydock faced a quick turnaround with two more meetings scheduled on Friday and Saturay but with the outer track out of action an inspection on Tuesday was necessary to establish if the inner course would again be suitable.Haydock posted: “Fixtures scheduled to take place on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th May have been cancelled following today’s inspection of the inner course.‌“We have hoped to stage this weekend’s fixtures on the inner track after a hole appeared on the outer track during racing last Saturday.“However, given the three days of racing already staged on the inner track in recent days, the ground will not have the chance to recover to an acceptable standard for racing this weekend.‌“We are working with the BHA around next steps for the rescheduling of Friday and Saturday’s races and the BHA will issue further updates on this in due course.“We are sorry for the inconvenience that this will cause to participants and racegoers.Article continues below“External drainage specialists and agronomists are on site at Haydock park today and investigations continue into the cause of the hole that appeared on the outer track during racing on Saturday 23rd May.”Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌ITVBritish Horseracing AuthorityHaydock Racecourse