Weather forces Friday meeting transfer to Ballarat

Racing Victoria has transferred Friday’s Warracknabeal meeting to Ballarat’s synthetic track after wet weather rendered horse areas at the the Wimmera racecourse unsafe.

Recent heavy rain has flooded key horse areas, including the day stalls and pre-parade ring, prompting Racing Victoria and the Warracknabeal Racing Club to abandon plans to race at the Wimmera venue.

With further rain forecast and little prospect of conditions improving, officials opted to relocate the meeting to Sportsbet Ballarat Synthetic to keep the fixture in the region.

Racing Victoria considered transferring the meeting to an alternative turf venue but was unable to identify a suitable option because of the state’s race schedule and widespread wet weather.

The transfer has also resulted in three race distance changes, with a revised program to be issued by Racing Victoria.