Taunton & Huntingdon both go ahead

Racing will go ahead as scheduled this afternoon at both Taunton and Huntingdon.

Taunton Clerk of the course Jason Loosemore had planned to check conditions at 7am but he called off that inspection as the temperature only just dipped below freezing overnight.

The ground is reported to be soft, good to soft in places.

This afternoon's meeting at Huntingdon also goes ahead after the track passed an inspection.

Clerk of the course Sulekha Varma had called an 8am check for the track, but was able to give the thumbs-up a little earlier than planned after a frost-free night.

The going is officially described as soft.

Meanwhile meeting's on Friday at Newcastle and Kempton are still in the balance with inspections planned for 8am on raceday morning.

Newcastle Clerk of the course James Armstrong was due to assess conditions at 8am today but after taking an earlier look, he reports the situation to be inconclusive at present.

However, with the track having improved over the last 24 hours, he is keen to give the fixture every chance.

He said: "We stayed above freezing last night and it's currently 3C which has been a big help.

"It's been just warm enough to improve a little overnight and there has been some fairly significant improvement in the last 24 hours.

"We are still not raceable, but it is a positive forecast with temperatures around 5C with some drizzle and an evening and early morning that should stay above freezing.

"Hopefully that will be enough to see us through, but the course will be really quite testing as it snowed after our meeting last Wednesday so we've had to put the course back by hand and they will be racing on the same line as last week."

Officials at Kempton have called a precautionary inspection for 8am on Friday ahead of their afternoon National Hunt meeting.

Clerk of the course Barney Clifford was due to check conditions at 8am today but he assessed the ground earlier than planned and reports the track to be raceable.

However, temperatures are expected to stay low and with the possibility of snow showers during the day, Clifford feels it best to check again on raceday morning.

The chase course is currently reported to be good to soft, soft in places, while the hurdles track is soft, good to soft in places.

There was a standby all-weather meeting in place should the jumps fixture have been called off today, but those races will now not be activated.