Bangor latest casualty of weather

Tomorrow afternoon’s racing at Bangor has been abandoned due to a frozen track following an 8am inspection.

Temperatures dipped to minus three overnight and with the same forecast again for tonight, officials took the decision to draw stumps early.

“We’ve had to abandon,” said clerk of the course Ed Gretton. “We are not raceable at present as parts of the course are frozen with frost embedded in the track and we don’t think it will improve sufficiently enough in time.

“It got to minus three last night and the same is forecast again tonight and with the short days it will just not rise quickly enough.

“There will not be enough energy in the sun to allow us to race.”

Bangor’s abandonment leaves Southwell’s all-weather meeting as the only card scheduled after Monday before Boxing Day.

This afternoon’s meeting at Ffos Las will go ahead as planned after the course brought forward a precautionary 8am inspection.

Temperatures dipped only marginally below freezing overnight and the Welsh venue will stage the first meeting in Britain on turf since Friday.

Clerk of the course Tim Long said: “Racing is on. It got down to minus one last night and it wasn’t that cold all of the night, only the latter half of it.

“We’ve got light cloud now and while we may get the odd wintry shower a bit later it is forecast for it to clear up.

“Temperatures are scheduled to reach plus four of five so there are no cause for alarms on that score."