Deluge forces abandonment of Races

Date Published: 12-Sep-2008

FOR the first time in six years, racing was abandoned at Ballybrit this week after the track was hit by a deluge during the staging of its traditional threeday September meeting.

Having successfully staged Monday’s card – featuring the Ardilaun Hotel Oyster Stakes – course management were left with no option but to call off Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s action when the track became waterlogged.

John Moloney, manager of Galway racetrack, was naturally disappointed that the deplorable weather had claimed Ballybrit as its latest victim, but said that the “pure volume of rain” on Tuesday morning made the decision to abandon racing unavoidable.

“We walked the course at 7am and it was still raceable after 10mm of rainfall, but…..