Alterations to Gold Crown Carnival

DUE to the impact of the severe weather conditions being experienced and the cancellation of yesterday’s Bathurst meeting, it has been necessary to change the Gold Crown Carnival schedule.

Paramount to the deliberations between the Club and Harness Racing New South Wales was retaining the Gold Crown Finals night next Saturday which features four Group One races.

The Gold Chalice and Bracelet heats, which were scheduled for yesterday, will now be held tomorrow night.

The programme for the meeting, which was to be conducted on Wednesday night that featured Gold Crown and Tiara Consolations, will be transferred to March 31 with amendments.

“The forced cancellation today was a situation which evolved during this morning,” HRNSW Chief Executive John Dumesny explained.

“After been advised early this morning that the track was in order to race, unfortunately constant rain thereafter caused a significant deterioration on the inner section of the track.”

Taken into consideration was the continuing forecast of rain and the likely impact on visibility.

“As there was no guarantee that all heats could be conducted, it was decided to transfer the Chalice and Bracelet heats to Wednesday to provide all horses with an equal opportunity to compete on the same day,” Dumesny said.

The decision was taken in consultation between Club officials, stewards as well as trainers and drivers who had arrived at the track.

Owners of horses engaged at Bathurst yesterday will be compensated under the HRNSW Cancellation Policy due to the late abandonment of the meeting.

The decision to move the Consolation races to the following week was taken following the Club’s discussions with trainers.

The amended race programme for March 31 will be available on the HRNSW website.

• HRNSW Media