Doncaster's November Handicap card switched to Newcastle due to continued rain, British Flat turf season ends at Newmarket

Continued rain at Doncaster has forced the Virgin Bet November Handicap card to be switched to the all-weather at Newcastle next Saturday.

It means the final turf Flat meeting of the year in Britain is today's fixture at Newmarket. 

There has been rain every day on Town Moor since last weekend's Futurity card, with 30mm falling in total, and another 25mm to 50mm is forecast for next week.

The track at Doncaster was declared unraceable following an inspection on Friday afternoon. With no significant chance of improvement before next Saturday, the decision was taken to transfer the whole fixture to the all-weather at Newcastle to ensure it goes ahead.

Entries will close as normal at noon on Monday, with the races published on Racing Admin. Prize-money remains unchanged but the switch means the £70,000 November Handicap will have a safety limit of 14 runners, rather than 22.

Mark Spincer, managing director of Arena Racing Company's racing division, said: "The Virgin Bet November Handicap is a really popular fixture at the end of the turf season in Britain. It is a huge shame to lose the fixture at Doncaster, but there is simply no chance that the track will be in a position to be fit for racing in time.

"Doncaster raced on very heavy ground at the Futurity meeting just over a week ago, and we have seen significant rainfall since then with anywhere between 25mm and 50mm more forecast through the coming week. We appreciate the impact on those looking for a final opportunity on the turf before the season comes to a close, but the track will simply not be ready in time.

"We would like to thank our colleagues at BHA, as well as sponsors Virgin Bet and the European Breeders Fund and to ITV and Sky Sports Racing for facilitating this move."

The November Handicap is the traditional highlight of the last day of the turf Flat season, which ends today as Tuesday's card at unraceable Redcar has been switched to Chelmsford.

The race was staged at Windsor when Doncaster was closed for redevelopment in 2006 and was run at Thirsk in 1989 due to subsidence issues on Town Moor.

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