BLOW AS TOWCESTER IS WATERLOGGED

Hopes that a full programme of racing would take place on Boxing Day were dashed when the meeting at Towcester was abandoned due to waterlogging this afternoon.

'The track is unraceable and we have no alternative but to abandon,' said clerk of the course Hugo Bevan.

'It`s not just the course, the car parks are saturated as well. We have had over half an inch of rain since last night and it is still drizzling now. The amount could rise to three-quarters of an inch by tomorrow.'

Bevan described the loss of the programme as a 'big blow' as officials laid out a reported #450,000 to take over a Boxing Day fixture from Newton Abbot.

Towcester is the 37th meeting to be lost to the weather this jumps season.

Waterlogging is also the problem at Huntingdon where Bevan has called for an inspection tomorrow morning.

Heavy rain has hit Hereford, whose clerk of the course John Williams said: 'The going is now heavy. The weather has been awful and it is still raining.

'There is no inspection planned but I will have another look at the course tomorrow if it keeps raining.'

Officials at Market Rasen have their fingers crossed that the rain does not threaten their card, featuring the #15,000 Clugston Lincolnshire National, for which they are expecting a bumper crowd.

Although no inspection is planned and the hurdle course is in fine shape, any significant rainfall between now and Tuesday would cause concern.

'We had four millimetres of rain yesterday and another four millimetres so far today and it is still drizzling,' said clerk of the course Charlie Moore this afternoon.

'The forecast is for the rain to stop shortly, but it doesn`t look like it at the moment. It`s only light drizzle but it keeps coming, so we need that to stop.

'The hurdle course will take any amount of rain. The chase course wont but we could omit two fences if necessary.

'I wouldn`t want a huge amount more rain. There is some frost and wintry showers forecast. They are of concern but we are sheeted down for frost and the hurdle course is all on new ground so that should stand a one-night frost no trouble.

'Our fingers are firmly crossed. We have a good card and tremendous pre-bookings.'

The going is good to soft and heavy in the straight on the chase course.

The forecast cold snap rather than more wet weather had been seen as the major threat to Christmas holiday racing.

Clerk of the course Brian Clifford is confident that racing will go ahead on Tuesday at Kempton, which is due to stage the Pertemps King George VI Chase.

'We had 2mm of rain overnight and the forecast for the next 24 hours is that we could get up to 5mm to 10mm but that is the top end,' he said.

'There is a frost forecast for Christmas night and we will take precautions and cover up the exposed areas but it is forecast to get up to 4C or 5C on Boxing Day and we would be unlucky to getany problems.'

Wetherby racecourse manager James Sanderson is also full of hope that his track`s Castleford Chase fixture will survive.

'The forecast is for it to get down to -2C on Christmas night and that wouldn`t worry us,' he said.

'We are pretty relaxed. I walked the course yesterday _ and I will do it again tomorrow _ and there are no problems.'

Sedgefield general manager Alan Brown played down fears for the track`s meeting.

'The going is currently soft all round and we have no worries at the moment,' he said.

'What happens depends on the weather. We are concerned as I have spoken to the Weather Centre today and they said we will have two subzero nights tonight and tomorrow night. But until they happen you don`t know.

'And they said it would be cold last night and in fact we just got a bit of rain.'