Exeter Racecourse’s New Year’s Day meeting has been abandoned with immediate effect. Haldon Hill was supposed to kick off 2026 in style with a high-class seven-race card, but racegoers were dealt the bad news that proceedings were called off.New Year’s Day race-card was abandoned due to the state of the trackGettyThe southern racing track underwent an inspection just after 10am but it was not passed as it was deemed too ‘crispy’ for racing to go ahead due to the plummeting temperatures. An official announcement from Exeter Racecourse officials came just two hours before the first race was due to start at 12:35pm.“Unfortunately, New Year’s Day racing has been abandoned. While the forecast initially gave us reason to be optimistic that conditions would improve ahead of racing, the temperatures have not risen sufficiently for the track to be raceable for our first race at 12.35pm.“We apologise for any inconvenience that the timing of this decision may cause, however we wanted to give the raceday every chance of going ahead.“We are all disappointed at this outcome, but the safety of our participants will always be our number one priority and we thank you for your patience and understanding.”They further announced that those who purchased general admission tickets will be automatically refunded, while Exeter Racecourse will get in contact with all hospitality guests directly. Racegoers were preparing to see a number of star horses take to the track including that of Blowers who made British racing history at Exeter on December 18 by winning at 300-1. Clerk of the course Jason Loosemore said: “It’s absolutely gutting to call the meeting off as it’s a big day for us and we thought we had a pretty good squeak when we looked first thing this morning.“We’ve seen some improvement since then but not enough and we’re running out of time.“Ultimately there are some frozen areas that are not going to be sorted in time for racing.”The track failed an inspection and the races were called off two hours before they were due to beginGettySpectators will be issued a full refund whilst Exeter will also display other races around the countryGettyWith the meeting called off so abruptly, there are no doubts that some racegoers were already on their way to the course beforehand. As such, Exeter Races released a follow-up statement outlining their plans for those that do arrive at the racecourse. “If you have a ticket and are already on your way to Exeter for today’s meeting, the racecourse will remain open to show racing from Cheltenham and other meetings. “Our bars and food outlets will be open, and the Tote facility will be in operation. “All general admission tickets will be automatically refunded, whether you choose to attend or not. Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope to welcome you back for racing here soon. With temperatures having dropped considerably since the turn of the New Year, there are now also doubts over whether Fakenham’s Friday meeting will go ahead, though that will become clearer later on Thursday with it needing to pass a noon inspection. Furthermore, Newcastle’s Saturday jumps fixture could yet be called off due to minus temperatures expected once again.