No ITV Racing broadcast this afternoon as Sandown and Wincanton called off with Cork also lost to the weather

There will be no ITV Racing broadcast on Saturday as Sandown and Wincanton have both been cancelled after raceday inspections, with sub-zero temperatures meaning the tracks would not have thawed in time for racing.

Sandown was set to headline the action on the main channel with four races, including the popular Unibet Veterans' Handicap Chase, but the track is frozen in places and there is not sufficient time for it to recover. The verdict was made at 7.10am, with the inspection initially planned for 20 minutes later. 

Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper said at 7.30am: "We dropped to around -2 at around midnight and it's sat at that now. In terms of forecast, it was at least a degree worse than we were expecting and for a longer period.

Sandown: groundstaff remove the frost covers following the abandonment of Saturday's meetingCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We dipped below freezing at about 11pm. We spoke to the Met Office and asked when we were likely to get above freezing, to which their answer was 11am, and with the first race time at 12pm there just isn't the time for some of the frozen areas to shift."

On the possible rescheduling of the feature race, which was moved to next Saturday at Warwick following cancellation last year, Cooper added: "Last year was the first time we'd lost it. 

"There's less of a BHA involvement with it not being a Pattern race, that's not to say it won't happen, but it will be led by Jockey Club Racecourses and I'm sure discussions are already under way."

The scene at a frosty Sandown on Saturday morningCredit: Edward Whitaker

There was a similar situation facing officials at Wincanton, where three of the seven races were set to feature on ITV, as the temperatures dropped even lower. 

"It was pretty black and white by the time we'd got halfway down the back straight," clerk of the course Tom Ryall said at 7.40am after cancelling the meeting ahead of the planned inspection at 8am. 

"We dropped to -4.2C around midnight and hovered around -2.5 for most of the night. It was our second night of those low temperatures and it's got into the ground a bit more than it had the previous night. 

"We're only due to go to 2-3C at 1pm this afternoon so with the first race being 12.20pm there's just not enough time. It's a pretty straightforward decision but a real shame to lose the fixture."

The cold weather stretched to Ireland and Cork were also forced to cancel their seven-race card.

Frost has put paid to the jumps action in Britain and Ireland on SaturdayCredit: Edward Whitaker

Clerk of the course Val O'Connell said at 7.40am: "Following another night of frost, unfortunately the track is unfit for racing this morning due to parts of it being frozen.

"Temperatures got to -2C overnight and they remain below freezing at present and, without there being a sufficient rise in temperatures prior to our first race at 12.30pm, we have no option but to cancel the fixture.

"The team here will liaise with Horse Racing Ireland about a date for rescheduling this meeting in due course."

While there will be no live racing on ITV this afternoon, Sky Sports Racing will be covering the action from Southwell, where there is no inspection called ahead of all-weather racing. Temperatures are due to stay above freezing until after racing today, when snow is expected.

Southwell: stages a nine-race card on SaturdayCredit: David Carr

The feature event is the 1m3f handicap (5.05), with the unbeaten Moon Over Miami bidding to complete a hat-trick for Ralph Beckett and Hector Crouch. 

The channel is also slated to cover evening racing at Wolverhampton, where conditions are being monitored due to a Met Office amber weather warning for snow. The card is due to get under way at 4.20pm. 

Newcastle's jumps card had already been cancelled due to a frozen track.

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