Thursday’s Geelong meeting was abandoned after just two races due to dangerous high winds.
It comes only weeks after the Geelong Cup program was postponed to the following day when strong winds swept through the track partway through the card.
Gusts reached up to 60km/h early on Thursday afternoon. After Race 2, officials delayed the start of the third event by 30 minutes in the hope conditions would ease. But when jockeys and staff arrived behind the barriers, concerns were immediately raised about safety.
Craig Williams was seen speaking into a Racing Victoria official’s radio, communicating his concerns about the increasingly strong winds. Moments later, horses and jockeys returned to the mounting yard and it became clear they would not be heading back out.
As per protocol, riders engaged in the next two races were asked to vote on whether the meeting should proceed. The result was emphatic – 11 votes to one in favour of abandonment.
Strong north-westerly winds had been forecast, which hit horses directly in the face down the back straight and around the home bend at Geelong.
Although the Bureau of Meteorology advised that winds would gradually ease and even swing to a southerly later in the afternoon, stewards decided to pull the pin at 3:28pm. By 5pm, the conditions had begun to abate – but the decision had been made.
Racing Victoria confirmed the outcome in a statement:
“Racing Victoria (RV) and Geelong Racing Club (GRC) advise that the remaining six races on today’s Ladbrokes Geelong program have been abandoned due to severe winds.”
“After the running of race two, jockeys met with RV Stewards to raise safety concerns due to wind gusts which were increasing in velocity.”
“With the Bureau of Meteorology advising that winds were due to gradually subside throughout the afternoon, Stewards delayed the meeting by 30 minutes to allow time before reassessing weather conditions.”
Connections of affected horses will receive a $580 payment for the inconvenience.
