Racing abandoned at Britain’s most scenic racecourse as thick blanket of snow covers track amid weather warning
RACING has been abandoned at Britain’s most scenic racecourse – with a thick blanket of snow covering the track.
It comes amid a weather warning covering parts of the UK for ice and snow.
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Hexham racecourse in Northumberland was covered under three inches of snow forcing racing to be cancelled
And it could yet affect the weekend’s racing with temperatures expected to dip below zero, raising the prospect of frozen ground.
The first casualty of the cold snap was Hexham, between Newcastle and Carlisle, which called off its Wednesday meeting after an early morning inspection.
There was clearly no way the six-race card due off at 12.46pm could go ahead with the usually pristine turf covered white.
Clerk of the course James Armstrong, who saw the same fixture last year cancelled, said: “We’ve got around three inches of snow currently on the track.
“It’s a lovely sight for a photo, but not the sight we want to see for racing.”
An amber cold weather warning has been issued for much of the UK by the Health Security Agency.
Some morning frost is expected at Haydock ahead of its big Betfair Chase on Saturday, which sees Gold Cup chance Haiti Couleurs set to take on Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning.
But bosses are confident they will escape the worst of the weather, with the ground predictably turning soft.
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Clerk of the course Dan Cooper said: “There are some nights where we may drop below freezing.
“But the daytime temperatures are going to be well above that and then we’re warming up from Friday hopefully.”
Temperatures are set to hit freezing overnight at Ascot ahead of their big 1965 Chase card on the same day, where King George runner-up Il Est Francais is all set to make his comeback.
But the mercury will rise through the morning meaning, as it stands, racing looks safe.
All eyes will be on Punchestown in Ireland on Saturday for the blockbuster Morgiana Hurdle and Sunday’s star-studded John Durkan Chase.
It will fall to -4C overnight on Thursday over there but the forecast looks promising for the weekend.
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