The ROA has announced that ARC will be making goodwill payments of £300 to owners affected by the following recent abandonments that took place mid-fixture at their courses:
Southwell December 20 Heavy rain waterlogging the fibresand track, last three races
Fontwell December 26 More heavy rain throughout the card, last two races
Hereford January 3 Heavy rain causing false ground, last race
Newcastle January 8 Floodlight failure, last two races
The goodwill nature of these payments is to be applauded, as the incidents were undoubtedly impacted on by extremely wet weather conditions from October to the New Year, or an unforeseen issue in the case of Newcastle.
ARC will be paying £300 to the racing account of the owner of each horse that was due to run. Jockeys who otherwise did not get a ride on the affected cards will also receive a payment.
ARC’s PR and Communications Manager Sam Cone said: “The amount of rain this winter has made things very difficult for racecourse teams across the country and unfortunately impacted on a few of our meetings over the Christmas period.
“Losing a fixture halfway through is incredibly frustrating for all involved, but we hope that these goodwill payments will assist Owners with their costs and the disappointment of not getting a run.”
Member David Hunt, whose horse Coachella Green was due to run in the abandoned race at Hereford said: “Many thanks for the payments triggered by the ROA and ARC. I’m sure all the other owners who were disappointed not to get their run last week will be as pleased as I am that our disappointment and transportation costs have been acknowledged by ARC.
“I hope they’re all ROA members, if not I strongly recommend they join as they do ‘fight’ our corner. Thanks for all your efforts on my/our behalf.”
The Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) has around 8,000 members and promotes and protects the interests of racehorse owners in Great Britain. Since 1945 they have been making members’ racehorse ownership more cost-effective and enjoyable.
To find out more about the ROA, visit their website here
