Garden fire forces Ayr abandonment

A fire in a garden shed close to the far side of the course brought a premature end to racing at Ayr yesterday.

The blaze began between the second and third races and as the building contained a gas cylinder, the start of the 2.10 was delayed by 15 minutes as the local fire brigade attempted to get matters under control.

Immediately after that contest had been run, however, the police and fire brigade reassessed the situation and after initially suspending racing, then decided the meeting should be abandoned.