The final two races at Goodwood were abruptly abandoned after just 20 minutes of rain, leaving fans furious over the sudden decision. The abandonment occurred during the Glorious Goodwood meeting at the Goodwood racecourse.
As of early Tuesday, six races had already been completed before officials called off the remaining events. The races affected were the 16:30 Fitzdares Offers Bespoke Bets Handicap and the 17:05 Fitzdares Telephone and Text Betting Service Handicap.
Clerk of the course Ed Arkell stated that the ground had been satisfactory prior to the rain. However, three horses slipped on the pull-up area after a heavy shower hit the track.
Arkell explained, “Everybody’s been happy with the ground over the last two days. It’s been nice, quick ground, and we’ve had a very heavy shower on it, and it’s not had a chance to get in.” Fans expressed anger over the abandonment, noting that the rain had only fallen for around 20 minutes before officials made their decision.
The pull-up area was deemed too slippery for racing after a significant amount of rain fell in a short time. A Racing TV commentator confirmed, “I’m afraid it’s what we thought. It’s abandoned at Goodwood, because of the pull-up area being deemed unsafe.”
Despite the cancellation of racing, Goodwood racecourse announced that all bars would remain open for fans attending the event. This is not the first incident affecting Goodwood; it follows a previous delay due to a serious car crash near the track within the last eight months.
Officials are expected to review conditions ahead of future events at Goodwood to prevent similar issues from occurring again.