Down Royal Racecourse has announced the appointment of Shane Webb as Head Groundsman.
Shane has an excellent racing pedigree bringing with him over nine years’ experience in the industry, having worked as Racetrack Groundsman at The Curragh Racecourse and Assistant Track Manager at Leopardstown Racecourse, as well as completing a short stint at Royal Ascot before moving to Ballydoyle Racing.
Shane will have overall responsibility for the preparation of the race track for Down Royal’s year-round schedule featuring 12 race fixtures. Amongst his duties, he will be responsible for the ongoing management of the track’s maintenance programme and course inspections, liaising with the Clerk of Course on repairing, setting out and realigning of the running rail as well as purchasing and budgetary control.
Shane has a Business Management Degree from Dublin City University and IT Carlow combined. He also holds several Institute of Groundsmanship qualifications including Racecourse Groundsmanship Certification from Cheltenham Racecourse, Racecourse Management Skills Certification from York Racecourse, Professional Certificate and Diploma in Turf Surface Management, as well as a Botany Certification from Oregon State University.
Emma Meehan, Chief Executive Officer at Down Royal Racecourse said: “I am delighted to welcome Shane to the team at Down Royal Racecourse. It’s an exciting time in the history of the racecourse and I know Shane will help me and the team ensure Down Royal is the benchmark of standards into the future.”
