RACING chiefs are hoping to avoid another Saturday without any jumps racing by staging a meeting in Wales this weekend.
The BHA have arranged a last-minute fixture at Ffos Las, where the track is currently raceable and the forecast for the weekend is favourable.
Ffos Las is set to stage an additional jumps meeting on Saturday[/caption]
The additional fixture would be subject to 24 hour declarations, given the tight turnaround in getting the meeting on.
It will be a seven-race card with four hurdle races, two chases and a National Hunt Flat race.
Saturday’s big meeting at Warwick is almost certain to be abandoned, with the track currently frozen in places and an inspection planned for 8.30am on Thursday.
Wetherby are set to cancel their Towton Chase fixture and the outlook for Kempton’s Lanzarote Hurdle card is also bleak, with the threat of snow and freezing temperatures in the south east.
But temperatures are likely to remain above freezing at Ffos Las on Friday and Saturday and they are set to fill the void, with the meeting set to be aired on ITV.
It is unclear whether any of the feature races at Kempton or Warwick will be re-routed to Ffos Las at this stage.
Clerk of the course Tracey O’Meara said: “We meeting was programmed this afternoon and we will have a seven-race card.
“We look like we are going to be quite lucky with the forecast over the next few days, temperatures will be around seven degrees on Saturday.
“It wasn’t too difficult a process getting the meeting on from scratch. If we were racing today we’d have been good to go.
“As far as I’m aware entries will be made tomorrow and declarations on Friday morning.”
Jumps racing has been decimated over the last week, with Newbury’s Thursday card and both Friday’s meetings at Huntingdon and Doncaster the latest to fall by the wayside.
Taunton, however, did go ahead on Wednesday where co-trainers Philip Hobbs and Johnson White enjoyed a treble.
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