Racing saw another instance of excess water causing problem for the courses on Wednesday when a patch of false ground caused Nottingham to switch tracks for the mid-week meeting.
The course announced that they had suffered a broken water pump followed by a leaking pipe, which meant that a large area of the track causing false ground, and rendering it unsafe.
Course officials decided to switch tracks to prevent an abandonment of racing onto the unwatered outer course but this resulted in over 17 non-runners before the first race took place.
Staff from the nearby Market Rasen course were drafted in to switch running rails from the inner course to the outer course, where were described as firm, good to firm in places. The officials involved have been criticised by punters as the switch and resultant non-runners created havoc in the betting markets.
Meanwhile, those paying more attention to Free Scratch Cards should note how Aintree is also keeping a close eye on the ground conditions with the Grand National meeting begining on Thursday and the big race set for this Saturday.
Weather forecasts have been predicting some rain at the start of the week and this arrived overnight resulting in a change in the official going to soft, soft to good in places. Officials will be keeping a close eye on any changes as better weather is expected leading up to the big race and they will want to ensure safe conditions.
The course has been recently watered and it seems that unless the bright weather does arrive the conditions underfoot are likely to remain softer than ideal for the horses currently at the head of the betting markets.
