3 minute read

Oppressive heat has forced the Newcastle meeting to be called off before a race was run, while rain has ended the Kyneton meeting in Victoria.

Contrasting weather conditions have claimed two provincial meetings, one in NSW and one in Victoria.

Racing at Newcastle in NSW was called off with the temperature hitting 41 degrees, higher than original estimates.

Senior jockeys and some trainers who had travelled their horses from Sydney met with stewards before the first scheduled race on Saturday and all agreed to abandon the meeting.

A couple of the horses were reported to be in poor condition after the road trip from Sydney.

Original predictions were for temperatures in the mid-30s.

Saturday's metropolitan meeting was transferred from Rosehill in Sydney's west to Randwick where conditions were less oppressive.

In Victoria the provincial meeting at Kyneton was abandoned after six races because of visibility issues.

Racing Victoria stewards called a halt to the meeting after jockeys had weighed out for the seventh race.

Saturday's meeting started on a good rated track before it was downgraded to heavy after rain, eventually leading to the meeting being abandoned.