‘Free entry’ gesture for Town Moor’s extra meeting

However the seven-race card, featuring prize money worth around £40,000, will not feature the Sky Bet Chase – one of the 
major casualties of the big winter freeze.

The Town Moor track only received the green light to stage the meeting after Southwell abandoned its planned meeting on Monday as renovation continues at the Nottinghamshire track following extensive flooding.

Both courses are owned by the Arena Racing Company, with Doncaster also due to stage a NH meeting next Thursday.

Managing director Mark Spincer said annual badge holders from every racecourse in Britain would be given free entry on Monday as a gesture of goodwill to all those who have been deprived racing action in recent weeks. Discount packages are also available via the track’s website.

Waterlogging is the latest threat to a NH season that has already been heavily curtailed.

Today’s Wincanton card must pass an early morning inspection and an 8am check will determine prospects for tomorrow’s card at Chepstow.

The good news is that no problems are envisaged tomorrow at Catterick which bids to host the first racing in Yorkshire since Wetherby’s meeting on January 12.

Clerk of the course Fiona Needham said: “We are raceable and we drain very well. If anything, the wind is blowing the rain off as quick as it comes down. I don’t envisage any problems.”

Wetherby is also confident of staging its prestigious Towton Novices Chases on Saturday, though Sandown has put in contingency plans to stage an all-chase card on Saturday should the hurdles track be unraceable.

Liam Treadwell was hit with a 12-day ban for taking the wrong course in an incident-packed opening race on all-chase card at Leicester yesterday.

The Grand National-winning rider was leading the field on Special Robon when he bypassed the first fence in the straight. He had to pull up the Venetia Williams-trained gelding once he saw the other runners jump the obstacle and realised his error.

There had already been drama at the first fence when champion Tony McCoy was unceremoniously dumped on the top of the fence by 15-8 favourite Franklin Roosevelt.

The race was eventually won by Lough Coi, though the champion jockey later reached 150 winners for the season with victory on the highly-promising Buddy Bolero. Leading three out, the David Pipe-trained 10-11 favourite scampered away to beat See You Bob by 12 lengths.

McCoy said: “I’ve been slower getting to 150 than in previous years. If I could ride 50 more it would put the icing on the cake. He took a while to get going. His jumping was pretty safe for a horse that hasn’t had much experience.”