Perth’s Christmas Eve metropolitan meeting at Ascot has been abandoned due to forecast extreme temperatures.
Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) made the early decision on Monday to call off the card, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting temperatures of up to 37 degrees in Perth on Wednesday.
As part of the revised programming, the Class 3 1400m race scheduled for Ascot has been transferred to the Pinjarra meeting on Boxing Day.
In addition, a 1000m “no metro win last year” race has been added to Bunbury’s meeting on December 28 to help accommodate affected horses.
The move is aimed at protecting the welfare of horses, jockeys and participants amid the expected heatwave.