RACING:Leopardstown's authorities insisted safety was their priority after the two steeplechase races were abandoned yesterday morning, reports Brian O'Connor.
An altered five-race fixture got under way an hour later than scheduled at 1.25pm after it was decided the chase course was waterlogged. That decision left some trainers unhappy and Noel Meade and Dessie Hughes met the stewards about the matter.
The stewards noted both trainers' concerns, and acknowledged their opinions, but said the abandonment took place for safety issues.
Leopardstown's manager Tom Burke said: "It's unfortunate but safety has to be the priority. We want to hold races, not call them off, but we had no option."
Burke added: "It started raining heavily at about five in the morning, along with high winds, and we brought the clerk of the course, Joe Collins, in at about 8.30. He walked both tracks with the stewards and it was decided the chase course was unraceable.
"Water was collecting in the hoofprints left by the horses from the previous three days and there was also casual water lying in a few places. Considering we were still getting heavy showers all morning, we were left with no choice."
Not surprisingly, betting figures were down from last year with bookmaker turnover dropping almost a250,000 to a 1,365,823. Tote betting was down a218,547 to a284,279. However, the attendance was up 791 to 10,806.
That meant the overall attendance for the four-day festival at Leopardstown was slightly down at 65,086. The bookmaker total was a8,054,646 with the Tote recording a figure of a2,156,014.
