Haydock meeting under threat from snow

Question

Haydock meeting under threat from snow
The Haydock meeting on Saturday, January 19, 2013 is subject to an inspection, as the racecourse could face snowfall by Friday. The weather conditions have not been friendly for racing over the past one week, so the organisers will have to be careful over
the next couple of days.
Although the course is cleared for racing at the moment, thing might not remain the same over the next 24 hours. There was an inspection conducted early morning today and the ground seemed to be in good condition.
The organisers were not worried about the overall situation today, but they hope that the weather remains good in the next couple of days. If that does not happen, things will go out of control and the horseracing fans will be deprived of some quality action.
Even if there is not snowfall over the next 48 hours, it does not mean that the Haydock meeting is saved. The weather has to improve otherwise there will be plenty of frost on the ground, which could result in cancellation of the event.
According to the forecast, the temperature is going to drop below the freezing point and it will stay like that over the next few days. Moreover, there is a clean chance of snow on Friday, which means that things could get out of control at the end of the
day.
According to Kirkland Tellwright, who is the clerk at Haydock, “We are fit to race at the moment by the skin of our teeth. It is forecast to be -3C for the next two nights but there is a clear risk of snow from Friday afternoon. If we arrive at the point
where we're not fit we'll abandon, but at the moment the only sensible course of action is to continue the process.”
On the other hand, the race lovers at Musselburgh have already been given the bad news of abandonment, as the conditions did not improve today.
Clerk of the course Harriet Graham said:  “It was -1C last night and temperatures are not expected to get above 2C today. The bits of the course that are frozen are solid, and there is snow forecast tomorrow so there's no chance of racing.”