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ASCOT is the latest racecourse to fall victim to freezing temperatures and has cancelled both of their fixtures this week which were scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

The cancellation of the Ascot cards, which included Saturday’s valuable Long Walk Hurdle and Betfair Exchange Trophy follow a series of abandonments this week and is the second successive Saturday where a feature meeting has been abandoned, following the cancellation of Cheltenham last Saturday.

The news from Ascot continues a tough week for jump racing fans in London and the south east which in the past week lost meetings at Plumpton (Monday) and Newbury (Wednesday).

Ascot had initially announced the cancellation of Friday’s card while scheduling an inspection of the track at 8am on Saturday, but brought the inspection forward after the temperatures dropped significantly last night.

“Saturday’s meeting featuring the Howden Long Walk Hurdle has been abandoned,” Ascot announced today (Thursday) on Twitter. “The planned inspection was brought forward 24 hours after temperatures dropped to almost -7 overnight. With the same forecast tonight and Friday there is no prospect of the track being raceable by Saturday.”

The next national hunt meetings scheduled for London and the south east are at Lingfield on Monday, Plumpton on Tuesday and again at Lingfield on Wednesday.

Read ‘Horse Talk with Simon Jackson’ for top horse racing tips and the latest news.