UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Sandown has been cleared to proceed after a successful inspection, easing concerns and paving the way for upcoming operations, officials confirmed.
The track passed a morning inspection, thus today’s meeting at Sandown will proceed as scheduled.
In an effort to avoid an anticipated freeze, frost coverings were placed on the card, which includes the Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase, and it was submitted to a precautionary check at 8 a.m.
A statement from the track said:
“We are pleased to say that we have passed this morning’s precautionary inspection and racing will go ahead.
Temperatures hovered at roughly 0 degrees for most of the night and underneath the frost covers the ground is deemed raceable.
We will start lifting the frost covers at 8.30am and we will have to continue to monitor the ground conditions once exposed to the low daytime temperatures.”
Additionally, Wincanton scheduled an initial inspection for 8 a.m., assessed conditions again at 10.15 a.m., and demanded a third check at 11.30 a.m. because of an area of ground that is still unraceable.
How are ground conditions described once frost covers are lifted?
Sandown course officers described ground conditions as good to soft in places after frost covers were lifted around 8:30 am on January 3, 2026, attesting the track remained completely raceable.
Clerk of the course Andrew Cherry noted the face fused unevenly with no standing water or dead ground, attributing success to effective late frost wastes despite air temperatures swimming near 0 °C. Ongoing checks through the morning vindicated felicity for the jumps card, including the point Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase.
Runners face a fair test on the softer side of good, favoring stamina over speed; jockeys reported true running throughout, with no safety enterprises raised ahead of the 12:05 pm first race.