The torrential rain on Friday and Saturday made for a heavy track, but it was the strong winds that would have posed the most danger to horse and jockey if the meeting went ahead.

“The main problem was that the rain had a strong northerly wind behind it, which meant it was blowing right down the straight,” Cowden said.

“The track itself was safe, but the wind and rain combined would’ve made it unsafe for horses to be galloping in a large field.”

The other factor that worked against the Jockey Club was the fact that Saturday’s event was a matinee meeting and the first race was set to start at 11am.

With that in mind, an executive decision had to be made early and even though the afternoon forecast was fine, it was a risk Cowden was not willing to take.

“Because of the early start and the fact that we had trainers coming from as far as Kembla Grange, we had to make an early decision,” he said.

“It was frustrating because by lunchtime, we were standing there in sunshine.

“We probably could’ve had horses running (in the afternoon), but that’s the difficulty you get when you have trainers coming from so far away.”

The Moruya track is famous for its drainage and even though the rain created a heavy track, it still would have been safe to run on.

But there were other factors that led to the cancellation, such as road safety and the likelihood of a small crowd.

“It’s not just about the risk with the horses on the track,” Cowden said. “You could imagine that driving down with two or three horses in a float is quite a risky factor.

“The weather would’ve destroyed the likelihood of a good crowd as well, so you add all the factors together and the only decision is to call it off.”

A big day was planned at Moruya on Saturday.

There was going to be a jumping castle for the kids, live music had been arranged for after the final race and quality fields had been accepted for the seven-race card.

But it wasn’t meant to be and now, with the summer racing calendar set to heat up, the horses that were due to run have been left feeling a little cold.

“If the weather was nice, we were expecting a really good day,” Cowden said.

“There would’ve been good racing, good fields and all the horses that were due to run needed those races to be ready

for the busy summer period.

“So that puts all of them behind now and that’s frustrating for owners and trainers.”

Race-goers will now have to wait until January 9, when the Moruya Jockey Club will host the Narooma Cup meeting.