Wolves falls by wayside

Racing on St Stephen's Day has been wiped out following the abandonment of Wolverhampton.

The all-weather fixture was the final meeting in Britain and Ireland to have succumbed to the icy blast.

Although every effort was made by groundstaff, overnight temperatures of -11.5C left the track unraceable.

Clerk of the course Fergus Cameron said: "The huge efforts of our team cannot go unnoticed as we have made great improvement over the last few days.

"But, at this stage, there is insufficient evidence to justify being able to create a proper racing surface.

"The thaw, which is on its way, has simply arrived too late."