Plumpton goes ahead, Wetherby abandoned, Leicester in doubt

This afternoon’s meeting at Plumpton, featuring the At The Races Sussex National, will go ahead after the course passed a second inspection at 9am.

An initial look at 7.30am proved inconclusive as temperatures dipped just below freezing overnight.

However the course has been entirely covered by frost sheets and they appear to have done their job.

“It’s good news,” said clerk of the course Mark Cornford. “We’ve given it the green light as temperatures are slowly rising but we are going to leave the covers down until 10am.

“The temperature has risen to plus one already and hopefully it will continue to rise as the sun is out.”

However, Monday’s National Hunt meeting at Wetherby has been abandoned due to a frozen track.

Course officials were pessimistic the meeting would beat the freeze and another night of sub-zero temperatures confirmed their fears after an 8.30am inspection.

The West Yorkshire venue lost its two-day meeting over Christmas also.

Clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderson said: “We’ve lost another meeting I’m afraid. It was minus four last night and is predicted to get to plus one at best today.

“It is due to be even colder tonight, maybe minus six or seven and the frost is now embedded in the ground.

“Nothing changed yesterday so I don’t expect it to today. Let’s hope it gets warmer before our next fixture on January 16.”

Lingfield’s National Hunt meeting on Monday has also been abandoned due to a partially frozen track.

After a succession of freezing nights the Surrey venue was left with no option but to inspect a day before the meeting.

And clerk of the course Neil MacKenzie Ross was forced to make an early decision.

“We’ve abandoned. We’ve had a couple of really hard frosts in a row now,” said MacKenzie Ross.

“The temperature is only supposed to get to plus two today and it reached plus four yesterday and the frost still didn’t come out of the ground.

“We are forecast minus four tonight and only plus one tomorrow so the decision was pretty easy really.”

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s meeting at Leicester is under threat due to a frozen track and officials will inspect tomorrow at 8am.

Temperatures for the next two evenings could drop as low as minus five and if they are reached, the meeting would be in serious doubt.

Clerk of the course Jimmy Stevenson said: “It got down to minus five again last night and it’s not getting very high today.

“It is supposed to get anywhere between minus three and minus six again tonight and we need a big change in the forecast if we are to have any chance I think.”