Racecourse to fully reopen after Storm Babet floods

Executive director Mark Clayton said it's been a "challenging period" for everyone at the racecourse

A racecourse hit by flooding will reopen to its full capacity for the first time after a multi-million pound revamp.

Southwell Racecourse in Nottinghamshire will be hosting its first race on Friday after extensive repairs following Storm Babet last October.

The venue reopened in February to limited capacity, allowing 100 people to come and enjoy the horse racing.

Mark Clayton, executive director, said there was a "little bit of anxiety and hope" the new facilities would work as planned.

He said the bottom floors of the venue were under 3ft (0.91m) of water when Storm Babet hit.

"When we arrived after the floods, [it] was gut-wrenching," he said.

"To see the place in that state was horrible - the smell and the look of the dirty water everywhere.

"It took us until the end of the year to get everywhere cleaned and dried."

Southwell Racecourse was one of many venues across Nottinghamshire affected by Storm Babet

Racing at Southwell was put on hold until the racetrack could reopen for meetings five weeks later, with changing facilities for jockeys and officials limited to a temporary marquee in the winners' enclosure.

"In the marquee, we had changing rooms, showers and a canteen," said Mr Clayton.

"People worked out of that for 47 meetings over the winter, during 40mph winds and freezing temperatures.

"We lost power, water and internet regularly, so there were a lot of challenges."

As part of the restoration, executive boxes were removed to open a new owner's suite overlooking the finish line.

A space has been developed for jockeys and officials to train, eat and relax before and after meetings, while new bars and hospitality facilities make up the bottom floor of the grandstand.

Mr Clayton said the storm has given the venue "a chance to have a bit of a shuffle and given things a bit of a twist in certain areas".

"There will be a lot of relief here when it's all done," he said.

"We're a racing machine here and one of the busiest in the country for fixtures, but there will be a little bit of anxiety and hope that these new facilities work."