Chepstow and Plumpton cards frozen off

There will be no National Hunt racing in Britain on Tuesday after scheduled fixtures at both Chepstow and Plumpton were abandoned due to frozen ground.

An 8am inspection was called ahead of racing at Chepstow, but with temperatures dipping just below minus 6C overnight officials were able to make an early call.

It was a similar story at Plumpton, where frost sheets deployed across the whole courses were not enough to save the day.

An inspection was scheduled for 8.30am, but the decision was made at around 6am to draw stumps, with temperatures in Sussex also getting down to minus 6C.

Officials at Newbury will stage an inspection at 3pm to assess the chances of racing on Wednesday.

The entirety of the Berkshire circuit was covered on Friday, but parts of the course were frozen on Tuesday morning.

An inspection will determine whether the track is frost free and raceable on Tuesday afternoon, with another cold night forecast.

The track at Southwell was deemed raceable under the fleece covers on Tuesday morning, but with temperatures set to fall again overnight a precautionary check has been called for 8am ahead of Wednesday’s fixture.

Thursday’s jumps meeting at Newcastle has already been called off following a Tuesday morning inspection, while Fairyhouse’s card on the same day is subject to a noon inspection on Wednesday, with the course declared unfit for racing on Tuesday morning.

Brendan Sheridan, IHRB Clerk of the Course, said: “Ahead of declarations this morning for racing on Thursday, the track is currently unfit for racing due to overnight frost.

“Parts of the track are frozen following two nights of low temperatures, with last night getting down to at least minus 3C.

“We don’t have the most favourable forecast with temperatures only rising to a high of 2C for a couple of hours today before dropping again tonight back to minus 3C.

“In light of that forecast and due to the current ground conditions, we will have a 12pm inspection on Wednesday to assess the prospects of racing here at Fairyhouse on Thursday.”

As the temperatures refused to rise in daylight, Wincanton’s meeting on Thursday was also called off early.

With no prospect of the frost coming out of the ground clerk of the course Dan Cooper felt there was no point delaying the inevitable.

Published: 16/01/2024 by Radio NewsHub