Racegoers were left frustrated after Musselburgh Racecourse called off their meeting for the day just half an hour prior to the first race.
Those behind the Virgin Bet January Jumps Raceday explained they tried to give the ground as much time to recover from the overnight frost but despite their best efforts and the valiant work of ground staff, elements of the track sadly failed to thaw in time.
The first race was due to go off at 12.27pm on Friday January 3 with the last scheduled for 3.27pm.
Organisers had updated punters throughout the morning about the time of inspections and the possibility the meeting could be axed due to parts of the track being frozen.
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Bill Farnsworth, the racecourse director, explained the decision making behind the late call, he said: “Good afternoon, everybody. We’re standing here on the racetrack at Musselburgh following the regrettable decision to abandon today’s race meeting.
“Now some people will understandably be asking, why did we leave the decision so late and not abandon the race meeting until midday, which was just half an hour before the first race. The reason for that was that the racetrack was raceable yesterday.
“We covered the racetrack with fleece to protect it from the frost, because we knew we were forecast for frost. The forecast was absolutely right. When we got in this morning, we had had a lot of frost. It had got into the ground a little bit, albeit not too bad.
“But we needed to wait to see if that frost would come out of the ground before racing. We were optimistic. The forecast was good, lovely, sunny day. Temperatures forecast to get up to plus four degrees by by lunchtime, so we delayed the final decision till midday to give racing every single possible chance of going ahead at midday.
“Unfortunately, there was still some parts of the track that were deemed to be unfit for racing, and they had no option but to abandon the racing. Sadly, on this occasion, whilst it was a very, very close thing, the weather did just beat us.”
The grounds team worked tirelessly to try to make the meeting happen.
(Image: Musselburgh Racecourse Facebook)
There was a mixed reaction from those with tickets for the event, with some understanding the reasoning behind the late decision however others were frustrated after travelling hours to Musselburgh only to be told the races were off.
One person commented: “What a shame, you all worked so hard to do everything in your power to allow the day to go ahead. Your efforts are much appreciated as well as safety first ensuring the welfare of the horses. Roll on the next fixture and lets hope for more favourable weather.”
Whereas another said: “Racecourses can’t win whatever they do. They call it off early and get called out for not giving it a chance, call it off late after giving every chance for it to go ahead and still get called out.
“Yes it’s frustrating especially if people have travelled or have to start travelling before a decision is made – but they have been all over social media explaining what is going on and trying to make every effort for it to go ahead – it’s up to individuals if they wish to take the risk of travelling when it could be abandoned.
“Musselburgh have been very clear in their communications.”
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Meanwhile one frustrated punter added: “What about members? What refund do we get? Drove all the way to Musselburgh for it to be abandoned. Bit late!”
And another said: “After a two hour drive and [we were] only 10 mins away when we got [a] message too say cancelled.
“The sun was never gonna be high enough to thaw it out. Should have been cancelled at 8am.”
You can keep up to date with Musselburgh Racecourse and their events via their website here.