RACING: National hunt racing continues to be decimated by the wet weather with tomorrow's fixtures at Sandown and Newcastle both washed out following inspections yesterday.

Prospects at Sandown had been bleak all week and it was a formality that the fixture would be abandoned following a 2 p.m. inspection yesterday.

"The course is probably as bad today as it has been all week and we haven't had that much rain this morning," said clerk of the course Andrew Cooper.

"The situation was patently clear that it was a very easy but sad decision. There was no real prospect of racing.

"We had six inches of rain in December, four coming in the last 10 days of the month.

"Half the track you could race over and the other half you couldn't."

Officials at Newcastle brought their inspection forward by a day to yesterday morning following further rain.

"We had eight millimetres of rain on Wednesday making a total of two inches in the last six days and we had a further 5mm this morning," said clerk of the course James Armstrong.

"There's water standing in all sorts of places now - there's no chance." So far, 26 meetings have been lost to the weather this National Hunt season.

British Horseracing Board officials were quick to switch Newcastle's feature, the cantorsport.co.uk Dipper Novices' Chase, to Haydock following the abandonment of the Gosforth Park card.

The £40,000 race which will not be reopened will now form the centrepiece of the card at the Merseyside track tomorrow.

The original 12 entries will stand for the two and a half mile affair which will get underway at 2.20 and will be shown on Channel 4.

Plans are also underway to reschedule Sandown's £45,000 Gerrard Wealth Tolworth Hurdle. The Grade One feature is expected to take place at Ascot or Warwick tomorrow week, January 11th. BHB officials are expected to confirm the decision today.

Haydock, where the going is heavy, are optimistic that they can save the day for jumping tomorrow. "We're pretty happy with things," said clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright.

"There's rain forecast but subject to it not being a great deal more than forecast we should be fine. We are forecast scattered showers, possibly sleet, but it doesn't sound like a huge amount.

"We can take a bit of rain before we need to worry."

Completing tomorrow's fare are two all-weather Flat fixtures - Lingfield plus the additional card at Southwell.

Looking ahead to Monday, Fontwell is still waterlogged following the abandonment of Tuesday's fixture.

"We are still waterlogged and I'll take a view when I have another look tomorrow," said clerk of the course Geoff Stickels.

Hereford, the other jump meeting scheduled for Monday, is also waterlogged in places but conditions improved yesterday.

"The place is still waterlogged. However, it has been a dry day for the most part and it has pitched off a lot during the day," said clerk of the course Jason Loosemore.

"I hope water won't be our problem but they are talking about colder weather coming in on Saturday and Sunday. At this stage no inspection is planned," he added.

Prospects for racing in this country over the next few days are distinctly brighter with no inspections planned for the meetings at Cork tomorrow, Naas on Sunday and Thurles next Monday.