The forecast for extreme heat has prompted Racing Victoria to abandon a scheduled race meeting at Mornington.
On Wednesday, RV adjusted the scheduled race times for Friday's Mornington meeting in a bid to avoid the hottest part of the day but after an updated forecast on Thursday officials have decided to abandon the meeting.
“Following advice from the Bureau of Meteorology that the expected temperature has increased from 38 degrees to 43 degrees, RV, in consultation with the Mornington Racing Club, has decided to abandon the meeting to ensure the safety of horses and participants,” RV said.
“Although the cool change is scheduled to take effect at 3pm, RV has decided to abandon the meeting to prevent horses travelling in the heat of the day.”
Friday's abandoned meeting will not be reprogrammed.
Victoria is still set to host a night meeting in Melbourne on Friday at The Valley which begins at 6.30pm and features the Group Two Australia Stakes (1200m).
The weight-for-age Australia Stakes, the seventh race on the program, has attracted a quality field of 10 including Group One winners Redkirk Warrior, Brave Smash, Malaguerra and Land Of Plenty.
The Darren Weir-trained mare Whispering Brook, a last-start winner of the Standish Handicap, was the $3.60 favourite for the Australia Stakes on Thursday.
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