'It was not safe to continue' - Huntingdon abandons card after just two races

Huntingdon's first meeting of the autumn was abandoned on safety grounds after just two races.

Concerns were raised after the opening 2m juvenile hurdle won by Anger Management and an inspection was called after the second race. Following the inspection, the fixture was called off at 2.13pm, just two minutes before the off time of the third race.

Clerk of the course Roderick Duncan said: "It's drying ground and we've spring growth of grass out there. We physically couldn't have put any more water on it this morning, we've spiked it and done everything we could to avoid this circumstance.

"After the first race it was evident that one horse slipped on the bend out of the back straight. We looked into sanding that bend in order to continue.

"The jockeys then reported after the second race that they had slipped into several fences around the chase course. We then had an inspection and I stated in the inspection that the slip marks were evident and were not what I was expecting. To that end, in my opinion, it was not safe to continue as I'm not in this business to put horses on the floor or jockeys in hospital."

Clerk of the course Roderick Duncan: 'This is a heads-up for all racecourses'Credit: David Carr

Trainer Kim Bailey said: "It's fast ground and they've watered this morning which has made it greasy on top and has led to a lot of fallers. I feel very sorry for the track but it was just dangerous."

David Dennis had a faller in the second and suggested "watering before racing in the morning is never a good idea", while many of the crowd were not best pleased including a number of annual members.

The next fixture at the Cambridgeshire course is scheduled for next Tuesday, and Duncan admitted it would take "a lot of work" to ensure conditions were safe for racing. There is some rain in the forecast, notably on Sunday and Monday.

"This is a heads-up for all racecourses. We'd struggle to put much more water on this course and we'll have to have a conversation regarding the next meeting," Duncan said.

"We'll have to see where we go and quite obviously we'll have to do a lot of work to make sure the track's safe for the meeting on the 11th."

Racegoers who booked tickets for the abandoned card will be emailed about a 50 per cent refund.

Read this next:

'We really need some rain' – Daly 'terrified' as dry ground hurts preparation

Long dry spell forces Ludlow to scrap its first card of the autumn

The world's number 1 horse racing app just got better! Download the brand new Racing Post app for free to experience our new game-changing odds comparison, exclusive daily big-name tipping and unrivalled app-only content. Click here to download the latest version.