Racing ABANDONED at Brighton following farcical race and disastrous two-hour delay that left punters seething

RACING has been abandoned at Brighton after just one contest – and a two-hour delay.

The first race on the day sparked a punter meltdown after the stall handlers did not get to the track in time.

GettyThere were atrocious conditions at Brighton – and a farcical first race that left punters fuming[/caption]

That meant a flip start – of the sort used in jumps racing – was needed for the five-and-a-half furlong race.

Punters could not see any of the horses amid the thick marine fog and the start was a total disaster – although the result was somehow allowed to stand.

Respected punter Tony Calvin said : “One of the biggest betting jokes in recent years is that the result of the absurd first race was allowed to stand.”

Decisions on whether racing could continue were pushed back and back as jockeys, trainers and officials inspected the track.

But shortly before 5pm the decision was made to abandon the remaining five races.

Hayley Moore, reporting for Sky from the track, said: “As you can see it’s still lightly raining, it hasn’t shifted.

“The main problem is there is no wind and it’s not pushing the fog through.

“It can come in as quick as it can go and it can turn cold really quickly. Mother Nature is against us today.

“Stewards were giving it every chance but because it’s such a calm day that hasn’t happened.

“It’s still drizzling and the conditions still abysmal.”

“The jockeys all seemed relatively happy to try to get through it.

“But even David Probert who won the first race said he couldn’t see and that’s when alarm bells started ringing.

“The medical professionals weren’t happy with the visibility out there.

“They had different plans in place to try to get it through but it’s a sport and when you’re talking about risking lives it’s not worth persevering with.

“It’s a sad end to the Brighton Festival.”

A post from the official BHA stewards on Twitter read: “Following inspections, racing has been abandoned @BrightonRace.”

That in itself sparked an angry reaction from punters though, who claimed conditions were so bad it was clear the racing could not continue despite the best efforts of those at the track.

One said: “What a shambles from start to finish.”

While another wrote: “Inspections? Wasn’t rocket science. Was obvious for the last two hours it should have been abandoned.”

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