WEATHER NEWS: THERE ARE growing hopes that Tralee's swansong as a racecourse will finally get under way tomorrow despite today's scheduled meeting being cancelled.
The cancellation was confirmed yesterday evening when parts of the course were still found to be unraceable. Yesterday's opening fixture of the Rose of Tralee festival was cancelled when an early morning inspection found the track to be waterlogged.
A further inspection regarding tomorrow's card will take place at 4pm today and a Turf Club spokesman said: "Things are improving and they are cautiously optimistic about Thursday getting the go ahead."
That would finally see the beginning of the final Tralee festival after the decision by shareholders last year to sell the track for development.
The final day of over a 100 years of racing at Ballybeggan Park was due to be Saturday but there were suggestions yesterday that Horse Racing Ireland could reschedule the two dates lost already this week to this coming Monday and Tuesday.
If weather prospects improve that could mean the festival spanning Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. There are already two meetings scheduled for Ireland this Sunday.
Meanwhile, in Britain York's Ebor meeting has become the most high-profile victim of the recent wet spell.
The Yorkshire venue was due to kick off their summer showpiece yesterday but heavy rain over the weekend forced the card, due to waterlogging and today's second day, featuring the totesport Ebor, to be cancelled.
Prospects for tomorrow and Friday now hinge on a noon inspection today.
Carlisle were also forced to admit defeat ahead of their scheduled meeting today with further showers taking their toll.
Friday's meeting at Newcastle is also in question with waterlogging still an issue following the abandonment of last week's meeting.
"We're still not raceable and we had another five millimetres of rain up until 1pm today," said clerk of the course James Armstrong. "It's dry at the moment but there is heavy rain in the area and we just really need a couple of dry days. The forecast is a bit better later in the week and that would give us a good chance for Monday's meeting. "The staff here have moved all the rails to provide better ground but we will have to see what we get."
And today's scheduled meeting at Hamilton must pass a 7am precautionary inspection. The going was described as soft, good to soft in places following 24.8mm of rain yesterday.
A six-raced card at the South Lanarkshire venue is scheduled to kick-off at 2.30pm.
