Owner 'absolutely furious' as Musselburgh defends last-minute decision to call off Friday fixture

Musselburgh has defended abandoning Friday's card just six minutes before the opening race following criticism from owners and racegoers.

The part-owner of Roger Pol, who had made a 750-mile trip from Lambourn to the track, said he was "absolutely furious" after the racecourse failed three inspections on Friday, while trainers and a racecourse bookmaker also hit out at the timing of the last-minute cancellation on safety grounds.

The track was deemed unraceable due to frozen ground at 8am and 10.15am and more time was given for patches to thaw before the meeting was called off. The announcement was made after racegoers had arrived and the two horses left in an opener, decimated by seven non-runners, were parading.

Musselburgh: the announcement was made as racegoers had arrived and the two horses were parading before the first raceCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

The track confirmed all ticket-holders would receive a refund or complimentary admission to another meeting and general manager Bill Farnsworth expressed his sympathy to horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and staff who had made the trip, as well as his racecourse team who worked tirelessly to try to get the fixture on.

He said: "Some people will understandably be asking why we left the decision so late and [did] not abandon the meeting until midday, but the reason for that is that we were raceable yesterday and we covered the track with fleece to protect it from the frost.

"The forecast was absolutely right and we had a frost that had got into the ground, albeit not too bad, and we needed to see if it would come out of the ground before racing. We were optimistic, the forecast was good, it's a lovely sunny day and temperatures are up to 4C by lunchtime.

"We delayed the decision to give it every possible chance of going ahead. At midday there were still some parts of the track that were unfit for racing and we had no option but to abandon. It was a close thing but the weather just beat us."

Michael Ogilvy, whose Roger Pol was 11-8 favourite for the 2m7½f handicap chase, expressed his frustration over the last-minute decision.

He posted on X: "I am absolutely furious. Just imagine the enormous travel bill that we'll be picking up. Refunding tickets all very well, but what about the owners?"

Trainer Ruth Jefferson withdrew her runner Autumn Return after the first inspection.

"When I saw the first inspection in the morning, and third in total, I thought I'm not continuing with this," she said. "I wasn't there so I don't know how bad it was but whether it should've been called off I don't know.

"The situation isn't ideal – it's not cheap to get anywhere. It's frustrating for those who have travelled for the day. I think the decision needs to be made at least by when the horses need to be in the parade ring. If they can't guarantee it's on 45 minutes before the first race then it shouldn't happen."

'The official announcement was lacking in apologies'

Alan O'Keeffe, assistant to Staffordshire-based Jennie Candlish, drove for almost six hours to get up to Musselburgh and added: "I don't know if there's something in place for decisions to be made sooner rather than later. My frustration is that they raced two days ago and the ground was always going to be opened up. In that instance it should've been called early but it's not easy."

Racecourse bookmaker John Hutchinson, who had travelled from Lancashire, wrote to Musselburgh for its "completely inadequate communication" after a wasted journey.

He wrote: "The official announcement of the abandonment made over the public address system at around 12.20pm was lacking in apologies for what had occurred. By that time, most people on the track expected racing to go ahead as the weather had improved and the problem area of the racing surface parallel to the stands had improved significantly.

"I think in these circumstances everyone would benefit from a fuller form of report explaining the reasoning for the final decision."

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