Uttoxeter: racegoers were kept waiting by attempts to clear sloppy mud

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker  

Waterlogged Uttoxeter abandons evening card

RACING at Uttoxeter on Tuesday evening has been abandoned after work to clear a waterlogged crossing on the course failed and an ambulance got stuck in the mud when trying to access the track.

The first race was scheduled for 6.50pm, but an inspection at 6.45pm put the start of the meeting back to 7.20pm, although the course was deemed fit for racing. It was hoped that the delay would give officials time to clear the sloppy mud from the top of the crossing on the far side, thereby making it raceable.

However, while the work was being carried out, an ambulance was grounded in the mud, further delaying the start of the meeting and, at 7.45pm, finally forcing officials to take the decision to abandon the meeting .

Clerk of the course Keith Ottesen said: "The stewards, jockeys and trainers were satisfied after the first inspection that the crossing on the stands' side was safe enough to go ahead if the crossing on the far side was brought to the same level of safety."

"Despite repeated efforts from our groundstaff, however, it was deemed that we could not bring that crossing to the same level of safety for the horses and riders due to the amount of water on it, therefore the decision to abandon was taken on the grounds of safety. Unfortunately the amount of rainfall has beaten us in the end."

Tony McCoy: "atleast they tried"

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker  

Since Monday the course has received 29 millimetres of rainfall, which culminated in a very heavy shower only hours before racing was set to get under way.

Champion jockey Tony McCoy had watched the increasingly frantic efforts to stage the meeting, and said: "If they can't get the ambulances onto the course they cannot race. But atleast they tried."

Seamus Durack, who had one ride in the finale, said: "It's a bit of a shame but the ambulance is the most important thing on the course and if that can't move then there's no option. They tried really hard to get racing on, in fairness, but despite their very best efforts, in the end, they failed."

Days after Worcester's controversial abandonment after one race due to a lack of sufficient water resources, not all were willing to be so forgiving.

Trainer Evan Williams said: "I wanted to race and I think we could have done and all I have got now is a lot of owners who are very disappointed as, just like Worcester last week, they've got to foot all the bills for this."

Racegoers were kept waiting as attempts were made to improve the state of the track, and were not pacified by the abandonment.

Brian Holt, from Stoke on Trent, said: "Theycould not run the proverbial in a brewery. They have kept us waiting for over an hour before calling it off. It's simply not on. The reason they have done that is so that people will spend more in the bar." 

McCoy and Richard Johnson were among the riders who had looked at the crossing problem in front of the stands during the 6.45pm inspection. McCoy had said he was "happy to race" if the crossing could be made safe. Jockeys' safety officer Mark Bradburne alsosaid he considered it safe to race.