Suffolk off through August but greyhound infrastructure intact

SUFFOLK DOWNS will not race during the month of August as a minimum following Tuesday's major fire at the stadium but initial indications are that the greyhound operation has escaped the worst of the damage.

"The kennels and judges' box appeared untouched," said Richard Brankley, head of greyhound operations for SIS, following a Wednesday site visit, "although there will need to be structural assessments while the sub-station has been knocked out so there is no power.

"I've taken Suffolk Downs off the schedule for August as a first measure and we are now in the process of working on replacement meetings, most likely one each at Oxford and Towcester. They will be confirmed in due course."

Suffolk Downs-based greyhounds are represented in six inter-tracks on an expanded Oxford card on Thursday plus another five on Friday evening.

A statement on Mildenhall Stadium's Facebook page - the venue is known as Suffolk Downs for greyhound racing - stated: "As plenty of you have seen, Mildenhall Stadium was the victim of a huge fire on Tuesday 30th July - causing significant damage at the venue which we have worked so hard at to make it one of the most popular oval motorsport tracks in the country, hosting countless events and enjoyed by thousands.

"We would like to confirm that thankfully nobody was injured during the devastating scenes, and would also like to thank the firefighters who tackled the blaze."

A total of 18 crews from Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire were called to the fire with nine water pumps, a water carrier and a command centre used to help battle it.

Crews remained at the scene on Wednesday morning to ensure the blaze was completely out. 

The blaze was initially reported at 5.31pm on Tuesday, with an increasing number of appliances attending the scene.