Why Is Horse Racing Cancelled?

There are many reasons why horse racing can be cancelled – but the more common is due to the weather.

Horse racing can be called off at any time of the year – even in the summer months it’s been known for some fixtures to be abandoned due to bad weather. While some are even cancelled if the weather is too hot.

However, by far the most common months for horse racing to be cancelled in the UK and Ireland are between October and March – the winter months when there is more rain, snow and colder weather about that can also freeze the track.

Tracks that are also near to rivers are prone to flooding more easily if there is a lot of rain and they burst their banks.

Waterlogged, Snow and Frozen Tracks The Most Common Reasons For Horse Racing Being Cancelled

If there’s been a lot of rain, then most horse racing tracks will operate on soft or heavy ground and if there’s been a lot of the ‘wet stuff’, then tracks can also become waterlogged.

Then as the year moves into winter and colder months between December, January and February a lot of tracks have to battle with freezing temperatures and even snow.

These low temperatures will freeze the ground and make horse racing unraceable and even though the some of the more premier tracks have covers to lay to try and help this, they don’t always work and are also a big operation to get them down and cover a wide area of ground.

High winds have also been a reason for horse racing to be abandoned over the years. The most famous of these was in 2008 when day two of the Cheltenham Festival was called off with strong gales at the Prestbury Park track.

Those races were still saved though, with race planners quickly moving them into the remaining Thursday and Friday cards.

Horse Racing Cancelled – What Are The Main Reasons?