Storms hit Chepstow meeting A fierce thunderstorm forced racing at Chepstow to be abandoned after the third race this afternoon.Twenty-six millimetres of rain fell in less than half-an-hour after the third race, leaving standing water on the track.An inspection was held with the local stewards accompanied by jockeys Chris Rutter, Brett Doyle and Tony Clark and trainers including William Muir and Clive Cox. They had no option to abandon the last four races.'We had a torrential thunderstorm with over an inch of rain in 28 minutes which the track could not take,' said clerk of the course David McAllister.'They were standing lower knee deep in water at the furlong pole. The going had changed from good to firm to heavy.'We rang the Birmingham Met Office, who said that rain would continue for a further two hours with occasional heavy storms.'The jockeys were adamant they would not ride on it and the trainers adamant they would not run their horses on it. And the stewards having considering their evidence abandoned the meeting.'It was a blow to the Welsh track, who only held their first meeting on Thursday for six months having been shut down because of the foot and mouth epidemic.
