A major UK racecourse has been forced to cancel its meeting midway through the card. Beverley, a popular Yorkshire venue, was three races through a six-race evening meeting on Monday when the event had to be completely abandoned, and punters were told to leave the venue.
Several starters had raised concerns regarding the state of the surface in the area of the start, as court stewards launched an inspection. The stewards report read: "The inspection confirmed that unsuitable ground had been identified underneath the starting stalls and on the racing line. Riders, PJ McDonald, Barry McHugh and Cieren Fallon; trainers, Ruth Carr, Nigel Tinkler and Lawrence Mullaney; The Clerk of the Course and the Veterinary Officer were interviewed.
"Having considered the evidence, the Stewards ordered racing to be abandoned."
Beverley is now the third racecourse to face difficulties with its track. Haydock has not hosted any racing since May following the discovery of an elbow-deep hole in the surface during its Temple Stakes meeting, while Cheltenham's Festival Trials Day fixture in January was disrupted when a hole appeared in the straight.
Both venues subsequently cancelled scheduled fixtures in order to carry out repair work.
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At Beverley on Monday, the horses for the following race were already at the start when the meeting was brought to a halt. Racing TV presenter Chris Dixon said: "That hole in the track which is right at the stalls position for the 7f races is significant and nothing can be done about it in the short term."
Pundit Adele Mulrennan added: "I think they've thought of numerous ideas but couldn't get anything to work. They can't move the stalls because of the fence. They have a gap to get in for each start and you have the fact there is still a big hole there.
"It's lucky they've found it because it's quite a big hole. It goes from as wide as two stalls. It's stall three and stall four that it's affecting. It's just disappointing."
Beverley announced it would be offering a compensatory payment to owners of horses that had been scheduled to compete in the final three races, while also extending complimentary tickets to racegoers for its season finale on September 22.