Vaal meeting abandoned

The race meeting scheduled to be run on the Vaal Classic track yesterday was called off after the running of Race 4. It all started after the running of Race 3 where concerns were raised regarding the underfoot conditions of the back straight.

In this regard the recently laid drainage channels had rendered the track uneven in places between the 2000m and 1800m marks.

A track inspection was conducted and it was established these concerns were valid and in the interests of safety the distance for Race 5 was amended from 2000m to 1700m.

After the running of Race 4, however, the jockeys expressed concerns regarding the safety of the track around the turn.

Due to the earlier apprehension regarding the back straight, a decision was taken to move the longer distance races to the Outside track and run Race 6 over 1000m as scheduled up the straight on the Classic track.

Unfortunately, it was then established there was insufficient running rail to fully enclose the 1600m Outside track and in the interests of the welfare of horse and rider it was decided, in consultation with the operator to abandon the rest of the meeting.

According to the ruling that at least two legs of any Exotic bet must to run to effect a payment, a dividend for both the BiPot and Place Accumulator was declared. The BiPot paid out R2.20 and the Place Accumulator R1.20.

All Pick 6 and Jackpot are fully refundable.