For want of a gutter, the wall became damp,
For want of a wall, the roof was shot,
For want of a roof, the grandstand became disused,
For want of a grandstand, the racecourse closed,
For want of a racecourse, the stables shut up shop,
For want of any horses, the sport disappeared,
And all for the want of a gutter…

I’m not saying that the buildings at Thurles Racecourse were in need of gutter repairs, but as I examine the state of the rainwater furniture at Kelso, the fate of the County Tipperary track weighs heavily on my mind. Running a winter jumps track requires judicious use of funds. When is it prudent to spend a penny to save a pound, and when is it okay not to spend at all?

The office team at Kelso are well used to putting on an extra jumper, sometimes even a coat, rather than turn up the heating on a cold morning. And it’s rare that anyone boils a full kettle of water – only enough for teas, coffees – for fear of upsetting the mean racecourse manager. But despite the careful attitude to spending, not all economies are sensible.

Back in the 1990s, when I managed Fontwell Park, the most important information was communicated to the racecourse by fax machine, using an inked roll of plastic film to transfer the scanned messages onto paper. Once a roll had passed through the machine, we discovered that it was possible to reinsert the cartridge upside down and put it through again – saving several pounds.

We used some rolls three or four times until we started receiving advertisements, incorporating large images of repossessed houses which used up so much ink that house-shaped blank spots began appearing on all our communications from the British Horseracing Board.

I’m pleased to report that the Kelso groundstaff have hit upon a much more resourceful working practice and, in addition to saving money, they’ve also been saving the planet. With dedication to detail, the team has rough harrowed dead and weak-rooted grass varieties from the track and reseeded using more durable strains of ryegrass. Following racemeetings, they’ve used specially devised hand-tools to prepare miniature seedbeds where the horses have created divots – thereby preventing an opportunity for weeds to take hold.

The outcome, this Summer, was a beautiful turf sward almost entirely free of weeds. There was no need for the annual spray treatment, or at least, not covering the whole track employing a contractor and lots of expensive herbicide at a total cost of a thousand pounds or more. Instead, Connor nipped down to the Garden Centre where, for less than a tenner, he bought a handheld bottle with a spray-nozzle holding enough herbicide to selectively treat the handful of weeds that he could find.

Following some Evaluation (the name of our selection in the Scone Estates Stone of Destiny Handicap Hurdle at Perth on Saturday) it looks as though some of the savings made on the track maintenance budget will be spent on new gutters in the near future.