Why have the race times changed today at Cheltenham Festival 2024?
CHELTENHAM Festival 2024 got underway with a bang on Monday and the action continues today at Prestbury Park.
Day two, however, will feature just six races rather than seven, and some of the race times have changed completely.
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Cheltenham was hit with heavy rain on the opening day with weather expected to be just as poor today.
The Cross Country Chase, as a result of the downpour, has been cancelled, producing a knock-on effect on the other races.
There was some optimism that the race could go ahead on Friday instead, but the decision has been made to scrap the race completely.
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Why have the other race times changed?
Four of the other six races will take place at revised times following the cancellation of the Cross Country Chase.
The first race of the day will kick off 15 minutes later than scheduled.
The last two races of the day, which were scheduled to take place after the Cross Country Chase, will be held at the same time.
A statement read: “Following 11mm of rainfall throughout yesterday, there has been no improvement in the conditions on the Cross-Country course and with areas of the track unraceable, the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase has sadly been abandoned.
“The forecast for the remainder of the week continues to look unsettled, with further showers likely on both Thursday and Friday.
“There will therefore be insufficient improvement to the Cross-Country course by Friday 15th March, and the decision has been taken not to reschedule the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase at The Festival.
“As a result of the abandonment of the 5th race today, the revised race times for Wednesday 13th March are as follows:
“Race 1: 1345, Race 2: 1430, Race 3: 1515, Race 4: 1600, Race 5: NA, Race 6: 1650, Race 7: 1730.
“The Going on the Old & New course is Soft, Heavy in Places.”