Flooded track forces Cheltenham to cancel day one of races

Cheltenham Racecourse has been forced to abandon the first day of its November Meeting due to heavy rain.

The event, which was planned to take place on Friday 15th November, has been cancelled after the racecourse became flooded and waterlogged.

A spokesperson for Cheltenham Racecourse said the event was cancelled due to "37mm rainfall in the past 18 hours."

Full refunds will be provided for those with pre-booked tickets for the Friday event and for those who had paid for parking.

The Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sales will now take place in the Tattersalls Sales arena from 1pm on Friday 15 November.

Cheltenham Races have announced that a further inspection will be carried out at 3pm on Friday, with further updates on Saturday's races to follow.

Although it is expected to rain throughout much of Friday, Saturday and Sunday are expected to be dry days.