‘It’s the most I’ve ever recorded in a 24-hour period’.
Leicester's Monday flat racing card has been abandoned following an extraordinary downpour over the weekend, which left the course waterlogged and unfit for racing. The racecourse was hit with 72mm of rain in just 24 hours, a record-breaking deluge that forced officials to call off the event after a Sunday afternoon inspection. With more heavy rain forecast, there was no hope of a speedy recovery and the meeting had no other option but to be called off.
There was no letup in sight for the heavy rain that had fallen in over the weekend, which pounded down 72mm of rain in just 24 hours at Leicester Racecourse. Saturday's relentless downpour had caused a delay for Leicester City's Premier League clash against Everton, which continued into Sunday, allowing the racecourse little chance of drying out before the Monday meeting. Course officials reluctantly called off after a visual check into the conditions declared them to be unrecoverable.
Clerk of the course Jimmy Stevenson revealed how difficult the track was to work with in the wake of such unprecedented rain. "It's just been so torrential—we've had 72mm so far in the last 24 hours and you just can't cope with that amount of rain," Stevenson said. "It's not even an improving forecast. It's stopped at the moment, but it's due to come back on again in a couple of hours and then rain for potentially another 24 hours."
With the forecasts predicting even more rain, as much as 50mm in the coming day, the meeting was called off. Rare for that, according to Stevenson: he couldn't recall anything close to that amount when he last recorded five years ago, with 54mm, and that deluge wasn't anywhere near this sort of fall. "It is crazy; it is the most I have ever recorded in 24 hours," he added. "You can't get rid of it, and it just sits on top."
Despite its efforts to prepare the track, so much water arrived that the draining systems were overwhelmed, and large parts of the course ended up being underwater. The fear of more rain arriving within hours sealed the decision that officials had to face up to reality regarding their not being able to make the track safe for horses or jockeys.
It is a disappointment to racegoers, trainers, and jockeys who had looked for something exciting on the day of flat racing. However, safety comes first, and the decision to cancel the meeting ensures that the prevailing conditions will not imperil participants. Certainly, it is far from the first occasion on which British weather has disrupted racing plans, nor perhaps now that autumn is upon us, will it be the last.
The rain keeps falling, and this time on the other side, the meeting on Monday for Leicester is added to a long list of sporting events that will be pounded by heavy rain. Racing fans will have to sit and wait for clearer skies and, perhaps, better conditions in the days ahead. Meanwhile, the Leicester track remains drenched and more rain is expected, bringing the course underwater for the foreseeable future.
