Kelso called off with other cards under threat from big freeze

Kelso's meeting on Sunday due to have featured the Borders National and a veterans' chase was cancelled on Saturday due to a sharp frost and no hope of sufficient improvement.

Clerk of the course Anthea Morshead reported via Twitter: "Conditionshave remained below freezing since 7am and frost is now in the ground.

"With the forecast still set to freeze to -4C Sunday morning, and due to rise to only zero by noon, racing has regrettably been abandoned."

Sunday's card at Huntingdon, where the Peterborough Chase is the highlight, is subject to an inspection at 7am with clerk of the course Jack Pryor anticipating that a second check could be necessary.

As with Sunday, racing in Scotland on Monday is in some jeopardy, with officials at Musselburgh assessing the track at 9am on Sunday.

The course was raceable on Saturday and it is likely that a further inspection on raceday will be needed.

Officials at Ayr – due to race on Tuesday – covered the track on Friday to try to protect against cold temperatures.

The ground at Hexham, which is set to race on Wednesday, was reported to be partially frozen in places on Saturday, while frost covers are down in vulnerable areas in advance of Thursday's card at Warwick.

All six meetings that took place in Britain and Ireland on Saturday, including Wolverhampton, had to pass inspections, in some cases more than one, and the weather forecast generally promises cold and wet weather for the next few days.

Punchestown are also planning an inspection for 8am on Sunday morning.

Read The Briefing from 8.30am daily on racingpost.com with all the day's latest going, weather, market moves and non-runner news