Beverley, Haydock & Doncaster all inspect

Beverley will take a look at 2pm due to the threat of heavy rain while Haydock needs to pass a precautionary inspection at 3pm.

At 7am this morning the ground was good on the Westwood, however, persistent rain has already turned the ground to soft, good to soft in places.

Clerk of the course Sally Iggulden said at 9am: "We are perfectly raceable at present but the rain is very heavy at times.

"We can take a lot more at this stage but the worry is the standing water in some areas because it's coming down that fast.

"The rain is due to stop at 2pm and if it does that gives us four hours before racing for it to soak up.

"We need it to stop at 2pm, though, as after that the forecast isn't bad."

The forecast for later in the afternoon for Haydock has also given officials cause for optimism.

Like large parts of the country the Merseyside area has been hit by a deluge of rain this morning but the forecast is giving officials hope.

The ground is currently soft, good to soft in places but that is liable to change.

Clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright said: "We've just bought ourselves some time by calling the precautionary inspection for 3pm.

"We'll just have to see how the next few hours unfold. The band of rain is supposed to move west so we have hope."

Also inspecting on Friday afternoon are officials at Doncaster with the track having to pass a high noon check ahead of racing the same day.

While the track is fit for racing at present, clerk of the course Jon Pullin is expecting further downpours before lunchtime.

He said: "We have had 15 millimetres since 7am. The course is currently raceable, however, in view of the forecast for further heavy rain, we will have a look at 12 noon.

"The weather may break at around 1pm but we could see significant rain before then."

Saturday afternoon's meeting at Nottingham is the latest to be put at risk.

An inspection has been called for 1pm on Friday afternoon to see if the card has any chance of going ahead.

Clerk of the course Robert Bellamy said: "It is raining heavily at present and we have had 14 millimetres since 5.30am.

"We were soft yesterday at declaration time and it turned out to be a lovely day, but we were always forecast the rain and it has been pretty bad.

"Tomorrow looks slightly better but it's not a drying day, so we will have to see how it looks later."