Safety concerns force Wexford to abandon after three races

RACING at Wexford yesterday was abandoned after three races due to serious concerns about the safety of parts of the track.

The decision was made by the Stewards “in the interest of safety due to ground conditions” following incidents in which Sandpit House (rider Paddy Kennedy broke a wrist) and Dark Arctic each broke a leg and had to be put down. The inevitable ruling by the Stewards followed a lengthy inspection of the track by Stewards, officials, trainers and jockeys.

Clerk of the Course Paddy Graffin subsequently explained the situation, pointing to remedial work carried out on the track about six weeks ago and recent watering, plus the arrival of rain in recent days as the likely cause of the problems.