Uttoxeter and Warwick inspect
Prospects appear bleak for the National Hunt cards scheduled for Uttoxeter and Warwick on Saturday.
An inspection has been called at Uttoxeter for 1.30pm on Thursday ahead of the Blue Square-sponsored fixture.
Clerk of the course Charlie Moore said on Wednesday: "We've still got snow on the ground and we have got a good percentage of well frozen areas. Equally we have got some areas that if the snow went it could be raceable, but not a sufficient amount.
"The landings and take-offs are very firm. We were barely above freezing today at 2.05pm and are due to freeze again to varying degrees over the next two nights.
"There's no great encouragement in the daytime temperatures. We would love to race, but we have effectively been frozen on and off since our last meeting and you can't always beat the elements.
"The worrying thing is the forecasters were beginning to make a few noises about warmer air appearing, but looking at three different forecasts they have all now dropped a degree."
Officials at Warwick have called a 2pm inspection on the same day.
Clerk of the course Sulekha Varma will make an early check on conditions ahead of the fixture, which is due to feature the Betfair Kingmaker Novices' Chase.
She said: "We hit almost minus 6C last night and up until then the snow and frost had been thawing and it was starting to look promising. Unfortunately the forecast has completely turned and the areas that had thawed have frozen again and there is still snow on certain areas of the track."
Varma added: "We are forecast another frost tonight, potentially minus 5C, so we will look at 2pm once the warmest part of the day has passed and see where we go from there."
8 February 2012
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