Blizzard sees racing at Doncaster abandoned as snow sweeps across the city

The seven-race card was pulled with jockeys already in the parade ring for the first race and with hundreds of racegoers also in attendance.

The track was raceable when the meeting survived an inspection at 8am which had been called due to the yellow weather warning for snow, the Racing Post reported.

However, a heavy snowstorm from midday onwards meant a second inspection was necessary while the runners for the first race, due off at 12.55, were circling in the parade ring.

"It's very disappointing," clerk of the course Paul Barker told Sky Sports Racing. "This morning I walked it and it was nice, we'd had no rain, dry overnight. I walked it again at 10.30 with the stewards' panel chair and we just started to get a bit of sleet and the snow started to settle a little bit but nothing that would ever concern us.

"Jockeys were arriving and going out saying 'This is all fine'. About three-quarters of an hour before the first, we just had a really heavy downpour of a snow and it never really stopped.

"While we were doing the inquiry, I spoke to the weather station for an update and they were saying you've probably got another three-quarters of an hour of this snow, the temperatures aren't going to increase so even if it stopped snowing, it wouldn't thaw or go anywhere.

"You can't just beat mother nature. Three-quarters of an hour before the first, we were perfectly fit and ready to go. I just hope everybody has a safe journey home now."