Frost covers remain in place at Cheltenham racecourse this Monday morning, ahead of the opening day of the festival tomorrow. The protection was erected at 2pm on Sunday, as officials worried about the onset of bad weather conditions.
The old course which is in use for the first two days of the meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday was covered on Saturday afternoon, while the new one used for racing on Thursday and Friday, was covered on Sunday.
“All the frost covers are now down,” said clerk of the course Simon Claisse.
“The forecast remains for some wintry showers over the next couple of days — tonight, tomorrow and maybe a bit on Tuesday morning. There has been no rain since early Saturday morning.
“The ground, though, is unlikely to dry out much under the covers. It is soft everywhere.
“We are experiencing a wind chill of -3C at the moment, with the temperature being +2C.
“This cold spell is forecast to last through to Thursday.”
The covers will be taken off the old course on Tuesday morning, while they will remain on the new course until Thursday morning. The going is currently described as soft on both courses.
