Thursday fixture at Ayr cancelled due to heavy ground and more rain forecast

Ayr has become the latest course to fall foul of the recent wet weather after the Scottish track's Flat fixture scheduled for Thursday was cancelled.

Officials at the track made the early decision to call off the meeting following an inspection on Wednesday morning. The going was already heavy at the track with more rain forecast and no sign of improvement.

Clerk of the course Graeme Anderson said: "It's heavy ground and we've had another 6mm of rain overnight, so in total since last Thursday we've had 48mm.

"There's more rain forecast, another 6mm tonight, and heavy showers this afternoon, and there are just a couple of areas on the track that are not going to improve from where they are.

"We put the inspection to 10am because we wanted to look in proper daylight and run through a few options like moving rails, but the more we investigated it became clear it was pretty wet right across."

Ayr's fixture is the third casualty of the week following the cancellation of Monday's meeting at Pontefract and Tuesday's card at Catterick.

Nominations open for third Lycetts Team Champion Award

Lycetts has announced the launch of the third Lycetts Team Champion Award, which celebrates and rewards racing yards that use the highest standards of employee management.

The first Lycetts Team Champion Award took place in 2017Credit: Matthew Webb

The initiative, which was introduced in 2017 and is supported by the National Trainers Federation, allows trainers to benchmark their business and use a trusted quality mark to attract staff, owners and sponsorship.

In the first two years of the award, more than 50 yards have acquired accreditation through participation in the scheme and a £4,000 first prize awaits the winners of both categories – yards with 40 or more horses and yards with fewer than 40 horses.

Divisional director Piers Plunket said: "Lycetts is delighted to be supporting the Lycetts Team Champion Award for the third year running. It is wonderful to see the accredited yards demonstrating tangible benefits through improved retention rates and racecourse success. I encourage every trainer to enter."

NTF chief executive Rupert Arnold added: "We have
listened to feedback about the nomination process and redesigned the award so more yards can participate. There is growing awareness of the benefits to be gained – in a nutshell, it's good for business."

Nominations opened on October 7 and will close on April 3, 2020, with the presentation ceremony taking place during Racing Staff Week in July.

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