Wetherby and Leicester hopeful

Officials at Wetherby and Leicester are hopeful that they can beat the weather in order for tomorrow`s scheduled meetings at the courses to go ahead.

Wetherby was one of seven meetings abandoned today but course manager James Sanderson feels optimistic about the chances of the second day`s fare going ahead despite having called a 7.30am inspection.

He said: 'I feel a lot more positive about tomorrow because it`s forecast to get a bit milder and it wouldn`t take much to shift it. It`s just not going to happen today, that`s all.'

Sanderson added that the Castleford Chase would not be transferred to tomorrow`s card.

Meanwhile, Leicester`s meeting is also subject to an early morning inspection.

However, clerk of the course Nick Lees, who describes the course as 'frozen in places', is hopeful of racing going ahead as planned.

'It`s frozen in places so we`re going to have a look at 7.30am but temperatures are forecast for 3C today and not to be very cold tonight,' he explained. 'If the temperatures rise, then I am hopeful of racing.'

The going is good to soft, soft in places on the hurdle track, good to firm, good in places on the chase course.'

Although today`s big Pertemps King George VI Chase meeting at Kempton got the go ahead, together with Wincanton`s Boxing Day card, there was disappointment at the remaining five courses who held failed inspections.

Sedgefield was the first to go with the overnight frost leaving the course frozen, according to clerk of the course James Hutchinson.

He said: 'We`re a non-starter, we`re frozen solid. It got down to -3C overnight and it is not forecast to get above 2C.'

At Huntingdon, plummeting overnight temperatures left clerk of the course Michael Prosser with little option but to abandon.

'It got down to -3C overnight,' he said. 'It`s not forecast to get above 2C today and parts of the track are frozen.

'It wasn`t a very difficult decision, in all honesty.'

Towcester`s scheduled inspectionwas also in vain.

Clerk of the course Charlie Moore explained: 'The temperature is still -2.5C and the frost is getting into the ground harder. With only 2C forecast, there is little sign of the frost coming out today.

'So, in the interests of safety and with much reluctance, we have abandoned.'

Hereford`s hopes of a rise in temperature were quickly dashed.

Deputy clerk of the course Jason Loosemore said: 'We`ve unfortunately had to decide to abandon racing. The forecast wasn`t promising enough basically and the frost is well set in.

'We would need a good blast of warm air to move it and that wasn`t forecast to arrive until this afternoon.'

At Market Rasen, clerk of the course Geoff Stickels explained: 'We`ve had this very hard wind chill and frost over the last two hours and it`s too risky.'

Ayr was the final card to be lost when officials at the track were forced into a late morning check.

All was well at the track at dawn but plummeting temperatures resultedin stewards making an 11.30am inspection.

However, by then conditions had deteriorated so much that officials were forced to abandon the scheduled card.

'We have had to abandon,' said course spokesman Chris Kennedy. 'The temperature has dropped considerably since 7.15 this morning.

'There was a forecast of 4 or 5 degrees but that just has not materialised and, in fact, we have seen a severe drop in temperature.'

The Northern Ireland card at Down Royal was also abandoned because of snow