DAY one of Dublin Racing Festival is set to be ON with Leopardstown ‘fit to race’ – but the track must still pass an 8am inspection.
All morning the odds had been in favour of Saturday’s seven-race card being called off.
Just before an official IHRB announcement was posted, on the Betfair Exchange it was 2.22 (6-5) to start and 1.76 (8-11) not to go ahead as scheduled.
But despite taken seven INCHES of rain in recent days the track has drained incredibly well and it looks like it’s going to get the thumbs up.
But one final inspection at 8am tomorrow MUST be passed for the famed venue to be deemed safe.
An updated statement read: “Update from @LeopardstownRC with @ihrb_ie Clerk of the Course, Paddy Graffin ahead of the Dublin Racing Festival.
“Track is fit for racing Inspection at 8am on Saturday morning Details following the inspection will be posted on @IHRBRaceday.”
The Saturday card, where Galopin Des Champs will bid to win a fourth Irish Gold Cup, is sold out.
It means thousands of punters could still be disappointed if bosses decide it’s not safe to race.
One possible resolution if racing is axed is to move everything back a day, with Sunday’s DRF card being moved to Monday, a bank holiday in Ireland.
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But now, thankfully, the odds have swung in favour of it being on.
Workers at the track, situated just outside Dublin, have done everything they can to make it safe.
Footage earlier this week showed a fence down the back straight submerged, with swathes of the famous racecourse underwater.
A Herculean clean-up mission removed the saturated parts of the course within six-and-a-half hours.
But the rain has been utterly relentless since and Mother Nature is, at the moment, winning the battle.
Another possible solution put forward by punters was to stage an all chase card on Saturday, with that track currently OK for racing.
That would, in theory, give the hurdles track an extra day to dry out before running an all hurdle card on Sunday – which would feature Lossiemouth vs Brighterdaysahead in the Irish Champion Hurdle.
The DRF has already been dealt one big blow with Willie Mullins declaring then pulling Kopek Des Bordes out of the Irish Arkle.
Owner Charlie McCarthy said he was ‘heartbroken’ to receive the call from Mullins telling him his Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner was not yet 100 per cent following a minor operation last year.
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