Wexford Bank Holiday Horse Racing Cancelled Immediately Due To Heavy R

Wexford Bank Holiday Horse Racing Cancelled Immediately Due To Heavy Rain

Wexford cancelled its Monday bank holiday racing fixture because of waterlogged turf, stopping a potential Gold Cup horse from competing.

NationPulse Desk

Oct 26, 2026 · 3:01 PM 2 min read

Key takeaways

Wexford cancelled its seven-race bank holiday meeting on Monday due to waterlogged turf.

Henry de Bromhead trained horse The Big Westerner missed her first race in ten months.

Clerk of the course Niall Madden reported 16mm of rain overnight.

Aintree and Newbury also cancelled their weekend racing fixtures because of weather.

Heavy rainfall forced track officials to cancel a bank holiday horse racing meeting at Wexford on Monday, stopping a potential Gold Cup contender from making her seasonal return.

Henry de Bromhead trained runner The Big Westerner was scheduled to compete in a 2m7f Listed contest at Wexford, marking her first appearance in ten months. Track administrators called off the entire seven-race card because of waterlogged ground.

This cancellation follows the abandonment of two other major weekend meetings. High winds from Storm Boelo forced the cancellation of Aintree's Old Roan Chase fixture on Sunday morning, while continuous rain caused the abandonment of Newbury's two-day meeting on Friday and Saturday.

An announcement from the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board verified the loss of the Wexford fixture.

Clerk of the course Niall Madden stated, "Following 16mm of rain overnight, unfortunately the track at Wexford has water lying in places."

He added, "We have got more rain than we were expecting and the majority of the rainfall has come since 5am."

Madden continued, "The sheer volume of rain in a short space of time has left water lying on parts of the track."

He noted, "The rain was due to ease a little while ago with strong winds throughout the day but we still have persistent rain at present."

Madden concluded, "In light of current conditions on the track and with the rain still falling, we are making the unfortunate decision to cancel the fixture."

The Big Westerner secured three victories from six career starts and claimed a Grade 2 win at Limerick in December 2024. She took second place in the 2025 Albert Bartlett and won a Grade 2 novice chase during her latest outing at Limerick.