A major day of horse racing at Caulfield has been thrown into chaos after dangerous divots were discovered on the track just hours before two major Group 1 events.
Racing officials were scrambling on Saturday, forced to move the rail out four metres to the 11-metre position after several divots that had been filled failed to take near the rail (at the seven-metre position).
Channel 7 showed vision from the track with former jockey Darren Beadman and current jockey Ben Melham easily picking up large clods of turf with their bare hands.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
The Group 1 races scheduled for this afternoon are the Underwood Stakes (Race 7) and the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Race 9).
“Now, the rail was scheduled to be in that seven-metre position,” star Channel 7 commentator Jason Richardson said.
“Look at this. So the fill divots that have been put in have not taken. There’s Darren Beadman picking them up with one hand. Have a look at Ben Melham here … So this is a divot. There’s 45 of these. Oh, we can’t have that.
“Can you imagine a horse at full speed hitting that divot at the wrong angle? That would be a disaster.”
Stewards got to work quickly to move the rail, but later there were still concerns over some fill divots.
“So, is there an issue there towards the rail again that’s concerning for the jockeys? Is there a replacement divots being fixed as well?” Richardosn said on Seven.
Among those whoe wnet out to inspect the track again were Melbourne Racing Club executive Josh Rodder and Caulfield track manager Sam Bennett.
“Got our fingers crossed that everything’s going to be OK,” Richardson said.
Racing expert Emma Freedman said: “There’s something very wrong with this track, but hopefully they can resolve this today and we can get racing underway very shortly.”
Richardson said the rail change would significantly impact racing conditions, with horses that race on the speed expected to have a major advantage over those that come from behind.
“It’s going to be harder to make ground with the rail out so far,” Richardson said.
The Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, which has a capacity field of 16 runners, will be particularly affected by the reduced racing surface.
Horses such as Angel Capital and Von Hauke, which typically get back and run on, will face difficulty weaving through the field with less room to manoeuvre.
The drama has overshadowed what was looking like a perfect day of racing, with 25-degree weather and a good four-rated track.
“It’s simply not good enough,” said jockey-turned commentator Katelyn McDonald. “ It doesn’t feel safe to me.”
Richardson added: “The biggest question is why wasn’t the issue raised yesterday?”
