08/01/2010 - Weather hits race meetings again
Two-horse racing meetings in Surrey have been cancelled as the freezing weather forced ambulance services into a state of emergency.
A lack of ambulance staff meant races planned at Kempton and Lingfield had to be cancelled, despite the course at Kempton being "perfectly raceable".
Barney Clifford, the clerk of the course at Kempton,said: "In the eyes of the NHS Trust, the country is on red alert.
"They therefore had to issue a 'force majeure' which meant we were unable to be provided with ambulances.
"We were also unable to secure private cover as their resources are also pooled by the NHS. It's such a shame as the course is perfectly raceable."
The meeting due to be held at Lingfield was called off for the same reason.
The clerk of the course, Neil MacKenzie Ross, said that the decision was taken out of their hands.
He added: "The ambulance service has been called into a state of emergency so they cannot attend the course.
"We obviously can't operate without the necessary safety precautions so the decision was taken out of our hands really."
Earlier in the week, two other race meetings at the same courses were called off as bitterly cold temperatures sweep across the country.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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