Scone, Narrandera races called off, weather threatens more meetings
Thoroughbred racing in New South Wales for the next 72 hours is at the mercy of the weather gods.
Thursday's meetings at Scone and Narrandera were abandoned due to heavy rainfall in the districts while a host of meetings on Friday and over the weekend are also under a cloud.
Friday's racing is scheduled for Kembla Grange where the track was rated a heavy (9) on Thursday morning with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting up to 28mm of rain in the area over the next 24 hours.
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'Right now as things stand the meeting is OK but we are probably going to need a bit of luck in the next 24 hours and beyond,' Racing NSW chief steward Tom Moxon said.
The Coffs Harbour meeting, headlined by the $150,000 Coffs Harbour Cup (1600m) which carries Big Dance eligibility, is also set down for Friday and possibly is the safest meeting in the state over the next three days.
The Mid-North Coast track was rated a soft (6) on Thursday morning with less than 10mm of rail expected during the remainder of Thursday and Friday.
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Saturday's three TAB meetings at Rosehill, Newcastle and Tuncurry are all needing some luck with heavy rain predicted along the coast over the next three days.
Rosehill was rated a heavy (8) at 8am on Thursday, with rain continuing to fall, and the forecast leading into the meeting is for up to 25mm on Friday and between 8mm and 35mm on Saturday.
'We'll go out and inspect the track on Friday afternoon at around 2pm,' Moxon said.
'A few of the forecasters are predicting varying amounts of rain so it's going to be a case of 'watch this space'.
'We'll inspect again on Saturday morning and hopefully we have a bit of luck with the weather.'
Newcastle and Tuncurry are separated by 163km and the forecast for the southern part of the Mid-North Coast isn't as favourable as it is a further 247km north at Coffs Harbour.
Newcastle copped 30mm in the 24 hours prior to 7.45am on Thursday and was rated a heavy (10) with Thursday's total rainfall predicted to be up to 25mm with a further 35mm on Friday and 50mm on Saturday possible.
At Tuncurry the track was rated a heavy (8) and similar numbers are being predicted in the next 72 hours.
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'Things are not looking as good at Newcastle and Tuncurry but we'll continue to monitor the situation and weight up what our options are going forward,' Moxon said.
Sunday's Wyong meeting is also in doubt with the Central Coast track expecting similar falls to Newcastle with a further 20mm possible on Sunday. The track was put out a soft (7) on Thursday.
The Forbes Cup meeting is also scheduled for Sunday and the track was rated a heavy (8) on Thursday morning.
The Central West town has a much more favourable weather outlook over the next few days with only 7mm of rain forecast over the next four days.
Originally published as NSW racing in the hands of weather gods as Scone, Narrandera called off
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