Small fields put racegoers off to leave the betting ring like a ghost town

If you build it, they will come – except when the ground is too firm. While it might be reasonable to anticipate a shortage of racegoers on a cold, weekday afternoon at Kempton, finding runners would usually be fairly easy with more than £82,000 in prize-money up for grabs.

But this has been far from an ordinary month and the unseasonably dry weather meant just 31 runners were declared for the track's six races, with three horses lining up in each of the two opening contests. The same fixture last year had 42 runners, including top chaser Shishkin.

Of course, this is not the first meeting to be impacted by poor field sizes this month – nor will it be the last if the Met Office is to be believed – as trainers agonise over opportunities for soft-ground horses and groundstaff fight a losing battle against the elements.