The fate of the Doomben meeting on Saturday remains in doubt despite a short reprieve from the recent heavy rain in south-east Queensland.
Doomben missed most of the rain which fell in Brisbane on Wednesday with only 10 millimetres being registered in the rain gauge overnight.
More rain and storms are forecast for the south-east region, although it isn’t expected to match what was seen earlier in the week.
Brisbane Racing Club course manager Bill Shuck said 290mm of rain had fallen since Monday which came on top of 100mm of rain recorded earlier this month.
“The humidity is extremely high today and if we’re to race we can’t afford one more drop of rain,” Shuck said.
Racing Queensland chief steward Wade Birch will inspect the track on Friday afternoon and provided conditions allow, hopes to gallop two horses to determine its safety.
“The forecast is for more rain to come and the humidity is a concern,” Birch said.
“If we don’t get much more rain we intend to gallop two horses tomorrow afternoon but it could be over by then if it starts raining heavily again.”
Doomben is rated a heavy 10 for Saturday’s meeting which includes the $100,000 Listed Channel Seven Nudgee Handicap (1200m).
The meeting was originally set down for Eagle Farm but was transferred to Doomben after Thursday’s Australia Day meeting at Doomben was washed out.
Meanwhile, racing will proceed on the grass track at Caloundra on Friday night and won’t be transferred to the cushion track.
However, the meeting remains in serious doubt with the week’s rainfall exceeding 442 millimetres.
A track inspection on Friday will determine Caloundra’s fate.
Friday’s meeting at Ipswich is proceeding at this stage, pending a track inspection on race morning following 172mm of rain in Ipswich this week.
The fate of the Gold Coast meeting on Saturday also hangs in the balance while the Caloundra card set down for Sunday has been transferred to the cushion track.
AAP TURF
