Racegoers were seen flooding out of the Geelong Racing Club on Wednesday after officials were forced to postpone today’s meeting due to adverse weather conditions.
Emergency services had advised that stewards curtail the meeting early after high winds swept their way through Victoria.
Severe weather warnings have been issued for large areas of the state as a deep low-pressure system moves its way east through the Bass Strait. Winds of up to 120kmph have been recorded in parts of Victoria.
Racing was called to a halt after Enver Jusufovic-trained Astral Flame claimed victory in the third race of the day.
Jockeys had raised concerns that they were having trouble keeping their horses moving in a straight line as they battled against the gale-force winds.
Races four to nine were subsequently postponed and will now be held on Thursday, with the first commencing at 2:25pm and the final race taking place at 5:30pm.
Racegoers were forced to depart the Geelong Racing Club prematurely after organisers shut down the racing meet due to adverse weather conditions
Five races, including the Geelong Cup, have been postponed and will take place tomorrow
It will mean that King Charles’ horse Gilded Water (pictured with jockey Mark Zahra) will return to the track tomorrow to compete in the Geelong Cup
Patrons, meanwhile, were asked to leave marquees as 64kmph winds moved through the Racing Club.
However, they were later asked to exit the premises after stewards had postponed the remaining races. Patrons will be able to gain access to the Geelong Racing Club to watch the rescheduled races for free.
It will mean that King Charles’ horse Gilded Water will return to the track tomorrow to compete in the Geelong Cup. Should the horse win, he will gain a berth in this year’s Melbourne Cup.
The last time the Geelong Cup was cancelled was in 1953, when adverse rain caused organisers to cancel the race.
A public holiday is held annually in Geelong as part of the celebrations.
‘Unfortunately, it’s not great news,’ Racing Victoria steward Corie Waller said.
‘So talking with the emergency services that are actually based on course and a weather station in the centre… they’re saying that the current wind conditions are around 46-50 km/h, with gusts of up to 76 coming through, and that wind activity is likely to continue until at least 5pm.
‘The problem is then, that after five o’clock they’re saying that it may die down, but they’re not 100 per cent sure whether it will or it won’t.
‘There’s also a chance that the wind direction may alter to a degree and bring a bit of wind from the south, which is actually even stronger. So we just don’t have a lot of surety to say we can wait for two hours and then it will die down.
‘There is a chance, and a pretty high chance, that it may continue past that, which wouldn’t give us enough time to run the races in a safe condition.’
