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Wolverhampton is abandoned

Racing on the all-weather track at Wolverhampton has been abandoned after it failed to cope with more than an inch of snow.

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Sedgefield hopeful after temperature rise

Racing on the all-weather track at Wolverhampton has been abandoned after it failed to cope with more than an inch of snow overnight. The course underwent two morning inspections but clerk of the course Fergus Cameron was unhappy with conditions and called the meeting off. "Conditions have improved but the track is still unraceable and there is an area in front of the stands which is not going to improve sufficiently to be fit for racing," he said. The only meeting to survive the weather is Lingfield, where racing gets under way at 1.15pm. Tuesday's meeting at Leicester will not take place after the track failed an inspection on Monday morning. Clerk of the course Jimmy Stevenson took a look early on Monday but with the big freeze set to continue there was no chance of a positive decision. "We went down to minus three overnight and we have half an inch of snow on top of the track now too," he said. "We are forecast minus five tonight so we have had to abandon." Tuesday's other National Hunt card at Sedgefield is now subject to an 8am morning inspection after clerk of the course Charlie Moore reported the track to be raceable on Monday. But with another frost forecast overnight the fixture remains in jeopardy. "We have been above freezing since 9pm last night and had two millimetres of rain and sleet," he said. "We also have a light dusting of snow but that is largely on the tarmac not the grass. "We would race today at 12 noon so there is no point having an inspection later this morning and we will have a look at 8am instead. "We are forecast temperatures as low as minus four tonight but they have been wrong and we are keeping our fingers crossed." Wednesday's jumps meetings at Musselburgh and Fontwell are subject to Tuesday morning inspections. The Scottish track is currently unraceable and a forecast of further frost is troublesome for clerk of the course Anthea Morshead, who will assess prospects at 9am. "We had a minus five frost last night and we are only zero right now so we are frozen at the moment," she said. "The forecast is for minus four tonight and then minus three on Tuesday night, with milder air set to come in on Wednesday. "We just need to see whether that is going to come soon enough and we are going to look in the morning to see whether it is completely hopeless or not. We will just play it by ear." Fontwell officials will look at the track at 8am although the course is currently frozen and with another hard frost forecast prospects are remote to say the least.