Racing Victoria is developing a contingency plan should smoke haze affect the scheduled Kensington Stakes meeting at Flemington.
Tuesday’s Werribee meeting was called off and Wednesday’s Yarra Valley meeting and Caulfield twilight fixture were abandoned on race morning because the smoke from bushfires in NSW and Victoria made the air unsuitable for racing.
Racing Victoria’s Paul Bloodworth was hopeful the air would be clearer on Thursday and Friday, with two meetings scheduled in Victoria, but he said RV had already had discussions with the Victoria Racing Club regarding potential conditions for Saturday’s Flemington meeting.
Flemington is scheduled to race on Saturday in a twilight timeslot, with the Listed Kensington Stakes the feature on the nine-race card.
“We’ve got a little bit of rain coming tonight and tomorrow and the smoke haze dissipating,” Bloodworth told RSN927 on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately at this point, though, they are forecasting that smoke haze returns on Saturday, where we are racing at Flemington and Camperdown.
“So it’s probably a little bit too early to make any firm decisions on that now.
“We’ve already had initial chats with the VRC in regards to it.
“There could be an opportunity if it becomes like the conditions we’ve experienced the last 48 hours and doesn’t allow us to race, we could look at moving the meeting to Sunday.
“But we just need to have some more formal discussions with the VRC and monitor the air conditions. The wind is the main impactor of the smoke haze at the moment and that can change quite regularly.”
Bloodworth said RV would look to add add another meeting next Tuesday to make up for the recent lost meetings.
