EMBATTLED chiefs at Worcester racecourse have hit back at a national newspaper which claims the ground is in "shameful decline".

Director of the racecourse Derek Prodger has written a two-page letter to The Times in response to an article criticising the facilities and racing experience at Pitchcroft.

The broadsheet claimed Worcester was rock-bottom of the 59 racing venues in the UK, slamming everything from the road system and parking, to the grandstand and catering.

However, Mr Prodger, who is also Worcester City Council cabinet member for community services, said the damning verdict was unfair.

"I think it was wrong to criticise the road system to the racecourse when they visited the track on the day of Malvern's Spring Gardening Show and Worcester playing Zimbabwe at cricket," he said.

"We were very proactive and warned people, through the BBC, to arrive early because of the traffic.

"And the simple truth is that, if racing at Worcester were such an unpleasant experience, it would not be as popular as it is.

"We accept it's not the biggest ground around, but to suggest we aren't putting any work in to improving it all the time is just not true."

The article described the experience of horse racing at Pitchcroft as "rough" - a situation made even more disappointing by its idyllic setting and tremendous potential.

"Worcester has been given a lick of paint so cursory that the pot must have run dry," said Alan Lee, racing journalist and self-proclaimed "Course Inspector".

"Despite a sublime setting, its spectator amenities are gruesome. The time for excuses is long past."

The article also attacked the surface of the car park, drunken people at the ground, food stalls, lack of carpeting in the members' stand and a 50p increase in programme price.

"The layout is shocking, the main spectator stand is undermanned and inadequate and the impression is one of a dowdy hotel," concluded Mr Lee. "Generally, progress has been so minimal in comparison with other courses that, in effect, it has gone backwards."

n Tomorrow is Derby Day and a race meeting is being held at Worcester, starting at 2.25pm. A big screen will bring the action from Epsom, and Pitchcroft will host six races of its own.

- Do you think Worcester Racecourse is "undermanned", and the spectator facilities are "gruesome"? Tell us your views by writing to: Voice of Worcester, Evening News, Hylton Road, Worcester, WR2 5JX or email: jp@thisisworcester.co.uk.