Warwick's Classic Chase card cancelled and Kempton could be under threat as plummeting temperatures continue to disrupt

Saturday's racing fare has been decimated for the second weekend running as Warwick became the second Graded card to be lost when its Classic Chase meeting was cancelled on Thursday morning.

The Premier fixture, which was due to stage the the Grade 2 TrustATrader Hampton Novices' Chase as well as the rearranged Veterans' Chase Series Final, will not go ahead with the track frozen and unraceable. The temperature is set to drop to -4C on Thursday and Friday night so there is no chance of improvement before raceday.

Sub-zero temperatures, which forced Sandown and Wincanton to cancel meetings last weekend, have already claimed Wetherby's Grade 2 card on Saturday after an inspection took place on Wednesday afternoon. Additional fixtures have been added over jumps at Ffos Las and on the all-weather at Chelmsford.

The going at Kempton, Saturday's sole surviving initially scheduled jumps fixture which is due to host the Silviniaco Conti Chase and Lanzarote Hurdle, is soft, heavy in places but inspection details at the Surrey track will be confirmed at 1pm on Thursday if deemed necessary. Temperatures could drop to -4C on Thursday night and -2C on Friday evening into Saturday morning.

• BHA announces additional Saturday fixtures at Ffos Las and Chelmsford 

Wetherby's Clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderson was left with no choice but to cancel the seven-race card due to the ground being partially covered in snow, frozen in places and waterlogged.

He said: "It was fairly conclusive and an easy decision. We've still got a lot of snow, which is now frozen, and we had widespread waterlogging from the snow melting initially, and we had rain and sleet on Sunday night and into Monday.

"While it's been around 0C for the past few nights, last night was -3C and we've got a huge expanse of frozen water with a forecast of -5C minimum for the next few nights. 

Saturday's card at Wetherby will not go aheadCredit: john grossick

"We've had between 1-2C this week, but it hasn't even thawed the snow from Sunday, so it's not going to shift between now and Saturday. It's a very easy decision and there was no point waiting until just before declarations – it's only going to get worse."

There will be no jump racing on Thursday after Newbury's meeting was abandoned on Wednesday due to a frozen track. Catterick and Clonmel were the other Thursday meetings to be called off.

There will be no jump racing on Friday either, as fixtures at Huntingdon and Doncaster were both cancelled on Wednesday morning. The areas of the home straight that had been flooded at Huntingdon had frozen on Tuesday night, with no chance of improvement before raceday. Doncaster's track is also frozen, with temperatures set to dip to as cold as -5C on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Weather prospects at a glance

Thursday
Lingfield Going standard to slow
Chelmsford Going standard to slow
Catterick ABANDONED
Newbury ABANDONED
Clonmel ABANDONED

Friday
Lingfield Going standard to slow
Newcastle Going standard to slow
Dundalk Going standard to slow
Doncaster ABANDONED
Huntingdon ABANDONED

Saturday
Chelmsford Going standard to slow
Ffos Las Going soft
Kempton Going soft, heavy in places (Inspection details confirmed at 1pm on Thursday if deemed necessary)
Newcastle Going standard
Warwick ABANDONED
Wolverhampton Going standard
Fairyhouse Unfit for racing with parts of the track frozen
Wetherby ABANDONED

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