BHA in close contact with all courses racing next week as 'bitterly cold' temperatures expected in Britain

The BHA is set to be in "close communication" with racecourses due to host fixtures next week to determine whether any additional meetings need to be programmed in light of the forecast for freezing temperatures and snow in Britain.

Night-time temperatures are forecast to fall as low as -4C next week by the Met Office, with the potential of snow across large parts of Britain towards the end of the week.

Frost covers are set to go down for meetings scheduled at Chepstow, Newcastle, Newbury and Market Rasen for their meetings next week, according to updates from the racecourses, while the tracks at Plumpton and Wincanton are described as frozen in places.

Haydock and Ascot also plan to put down frost covers in advance of their meetings next weekend, although Haydock clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright said on Wednesday: "If we get two inches of snow there won't be a frost sheet on the planet that can save us."

Despite the prospect of fixtures being cancelled due to the cold weather, the BHA said it would be holding off adding extra meetings for next week until there was more clarity with the forecast.

A spokesman said: "The racing department is in close communication with all courses racing next week and will be making decisions regarding any additional fixtures in light of these conversations, and also as we get greater certainty in weather forecasts."

Temperatures are set to drop across Britain over the weekend, with the country bracing for "bitterly cold" conditions during the early part of next week.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said on Thursday that snow was likely "to low levels" in Scotland and the north-east of England on Sunday, and that "a weather warning may be issued closer to the time".

On Sunday night, temperatures are predicted to fall to "minus three or four degrees and the wintry showers will be most frequent in the north east" before "pressing south and east" on Tuesday.

The spokesperson added: "There is a tentative transition in the forecast on Wednesday, but there is a chance of disruptive snow moving up from the south and west in the middle of the week. There is a fair amount of uncertainty beyond that point."

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'There won't be a frost sheet on the planet that can save us' - tracks concerned about next week's freezing forecast 

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