Hot Weather – Races Abandoned
8 February, 2016
Industry
Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) and the respective race clubs have this morning made the decision to cancel the Pinjarra Harness Race Club’s meeting scheduled for today (8 February 2016) and Perth Racing’s (Ascot) meeting for Wednesday (10 February 2016), due to the forecast of extreme temperatures.
The Bureau of Meteorology is currently forecasting the temperature at Pinjarra today to peak at 41° and remain in excess of 38° for the majority of the scheduled race meeting. The forecast temperature at Ascot on Wednesday is expected to reach 41° by 11am, peak at 43° during the afternoon and remain at 40° at 5pm.
The safety and welfare of racing animals and industry participants is of paramount concern for RWWA in assessing whether or not a race meeting or individual races on a programme should proceed, be delayed or abandoned in hot weather conditions.
Consideration was given to later starts or alternative venues, however, due to the short time frame and extreme temperature forecasts to set in before 11am and remain at that level well into the evening, there are no other suitable options.
The race meeting at Bunbury Trotting Club on Tuesday 9 February is expected to proceed as scheduled with the maximum temperature forecast to be 36°, as well as the race meeting schedule for the Bunbury Turf Club on Thursday 11 February with the maximum temperature forecast to be 35°.
The race meeting scheduled at Northam Greyhounds for Wednesday 10 February, is also likely to be abandoned, but a final decision will be made tomorrow afternoon.