Racing weather and inspection latest news
Key weekend meetings at Sandown and Wincanton will need to pass Saturday morning inspections due to the recent cold snap. Fakenham's Friday meeting was abandoned due to frozen ground, with Ayr only passing fit on raceday morning following a precautionary inspection of the track. Officials at Fakenham had planned to inspect at 07:30, but the call was made even earlier as the course was left unfit for action following freezing overnight temperatures. Ayr passed an initial inspection and, after checking again at 09:30, Clerk of the course Graeme Anderson was able to give the green light, while the all-weather meetings at Chelmsford and Wolverhampton will be staged as scheduled. Looking ahead to the weekend, Newcastle's Saturday meeting was abandoned early on Friday afternoon. A post on X from Newcastle Racecourse read: "Due to sections of the track remaining frozen and therefore unraceable, the inspection has failed and tomorrow’s fixture has been abandoned. All customers will be contacted regarding ticket transfers/refunds. Thank you for your understanding." Sandown and Wincanton will face inspections at 08:00 on Saturday, while Sunday's Plumpton card could also be in jeopardy with a 13:00 Saturday check. Exeter called off their New Year's Day card following a second inspection on raceday morning. "We apologise for any inconvenience that the timing of this decision may cause, however we wanted to give the raceday every chance of going ahead," a statement read on X. "General Admission tickets will automatically be refunded, and our teams will be in touch with all hospitality guests directly." Inspection latest
Friday:
Ayr - ON
Chelmsford (All-weather) - ON
Wolverhampton (All-weather) - ON
Fakenham - OFF
Saturday:
Sandown - Inspection 08:00 Saturday
Wincanton - Inspection 08:00 Saturday
Cork -
Lingfield (All-weather) -
Newcastle - OFF
Southwell (All-weather) -
Sunday:
Naas -
Plumpton - Inspection 13:00 Saturday
Southwell (All-weather) -
Chepstow -
