Snow has Leopardstown in race against time

LEOPARDSTOWN chiefs will make a call in the next24 hours on whether they will have racing on St Stephen’s Day.

Last night the track was covered by five inches of snow in places and bosses are concerned that the venue may not thaw out in time for the start of their Christmas Festival on December 26.

General Manager Tom Burke admitted: “I’ve had better days. On Monday I was very optimistic based on the forecast and condition of the track. The forecast suggested a thaw beginning on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately since then we’ve had heavy snow over two days and it now looks like the thaw may not come until Christmas Day or after.