Chelmsford race evening CANCELLED after FLOODLIGHTS cut out mid-race
RACING fans were left fuming after Chelmsford’s Tuesday race meeting was abandoned, after the course suffered a power cut.
The floodlights cut out in the middle of the 17.15 race, and the judge was unable to determine who won.
Jockeys were forced to ride in almost pitch black.
It was initially believed that Florencio was first past the post, but after a stewards enquiry it was deemed impossible to tell who won.
In a statement, the British Horseracing authority declared there was nothing that could be done to salvage the rest of the meeting.
Update at Chelmsford - lights came back and then ......... they went out again. Upside the moon is out ������������������������ All horses safely returned to stables after the 3rd race ������������������������������������ pic.twitter.com/D1VA61eYAd
— Don Clark (@dclark3105) November 13, 2018
Shortly after, the decision was made by course management that it was too unsafe to continue, and the meeting was abandoned.
Videos on social media showed the complete darkness jockeys were facing.
No announcement has been made regarding tickets for the evening.
"Due to the judge not being able to verify the full result, the race has been declared void," a tweet from the Authority read.
"Due to power failure, the decision has been made in conjunction with racecourse management to abandon the remainder of the meeting."
One of the race callers confirmed that, despite the pitch-black conditions, riders still tried to continue.
Even with no visibility, the riders carried on through to the finishing post.
No riders or horses were hurt, and everyone made it back to the paddocks safely.
Punters voiced their displeasure after their bets were void, despite it being apparently clear and obvious that Foirencio had won.
One person tweeted: "Everyone at the course knew that Florencio had won the race.
"Everyone!! Bar one!!! This ONE just happened to be the racecourse judge. I backed firmament.
Chelmsford abandoned pic.twitter.com/laEmRyxKCy
— James Harding (@jamesyharding) November 13, 2018
"So sorry for you Florencios. What a stitch up!! Shame on you Chelmsford."
One user showed their support to the racecourse though, and claimed the criticism was unfair.
"See people are piling in on Chelmsford Racecourse over the abandonment due to the lights failing.
"It happens. Give them a break FFS.
"I can’t praise that track enough. Every night I’ve been it’s been spot on, good facilities and they really look after people."