More than 70mm of rain smashed Royal Randwick on Friday morning and there is no let up in sight.
The nightmare conditions and flash-flooding have left thousands of Sydneysiders in the CBD without power, while Greyhound Racing NSW officials have already pulled the pin on their Friday night scheduled event and their Saturday races at Wentworth Park.
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Day 1 of The Championships at Randwick is now in doubt with the track rated a soft 7 and officials bracing for more rain.
It is a massive day at Randwick on Saturday with four huge Group 1 races on the card, including the time-honoured Doncaster Mile and the Australian Derby.
On Thursday Randwick track manager Michael Wood had his fingers crossed that his turf would hold up, although admitting there was a “fair bit of rain” on the way.
“The key is when is it going to stop raining?” Wood said.
“A lot of the forecasts we have seen suggest it is mid-morning on Saturday. If (rain) can pull up then, and we can get some sunshine in the afternoon, it will be OK to race.
“We have dried the track right down. It’s on the borderline of a good 3-4.
“The track is quite firm but, in saying that, we will take the rain as it comes and assess it as we go.’‘
200mm of rain was forecast for Sydney on Friday, and another 50mm could be dumped on the city on Saturday.
There is a 75 per cent chance of storms with possible lightning on Saturday, too, although the predicted high is 27C.
Horses are set to jump out of the gate in Race 1 at 12.25pm AEDT.
It has been reported that there are “various contingency plans” if the races have to be postponed.
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One of those plans could be to move Day 1 of The Championships to the following Saturday on April 13.
If that was to happen, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes–Sydney Cup meeting would also be pushed back a week to April 20.
With Sydney’s Autumn Carnival set to end on April 20, there would have to be some shuffling of other events as well, but a smaller meeting at Rosehill on April 27 could come into play.
Another possibility is to move the Doncaster and Australian Derby to a Sunday or even a Monday, however, that is viewed as a long shot.
Meanwhile, Greyhound Racing NSW issued a statement about their races on Friday.
“With continuing uncertainty around when the inclement weather will ease and allow the track team to perform significant remedial maintenance on the racing surface, and with several participants travelling long distances to race, it was decided that an early decision was best for all stakeholders and participants,” GRNSW said.
“The two race meetings will now be held on Friday April 12 and Saturday April 13, with the $350,000 final of the Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg to be held on April 20. “
The finals of the Group 3 Magic Maiden and the Group 3 Simply Limelight New Sensation will be run as planned on April 13.