NEWTON ABBOT racecourse cancelled their meeting after a pub landlord jinxed England winning the Euros with his cheeky race name.
The low-key fixture was thrust into the limelight last week after a local decided to sponsor a race with the title ‘Well Done England Euro Champions 2024 Handicap Chase’.
Gareth Southgate’s side lost the final 2-1 to Spain in Berlin last night.
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The name of a race cannot be changed once declarations are made 48 hours before raceday.
It meant punters faced the prospect of betting on a contest with a terribly awkward title after the nation suffered yet more heartbreak.
But the dire weather put paid to that, with officials saying the ground was simply too poor to contemplate racing after a deluge of rain at the Devon track.
Clerk of the course Jason Loosemore said: “We’ve had 5mm of rain so far this morning and have found an area on the winning line for about 20 yards, where we’ve broken the ground previously, which has just not taken the rain well at all.
“There’s more rain coming, so it’s not going to get any better, and even if we had a dry afternoon you wouldn’t with all good conscience run through that.
“I felt quite optimistic walking round again, but sadly that’s where we are.”
Pub boss Matt Bailey, who runs the Par Inn in Cornwall, was confident England would go all the way.
He said he would look a ‘genius’ if the prediction came true – but it wasn’t to be after Mikel Oyarzabal scored the 86th-minute winner following Cole Palmer’s equaliser 13 minutes earlier
Speaking last week, Bailey said: “If it comes in then I’m a genius and if it doesn’t, it’s something we can all have a laugh about.
“We just wanted to have a bit of fun and it’s a bit of publicity for the pub, it shows we’re out there and it’s just fun.”
This is the latest in line of comical Newton Abbot race names.
One punter sponsored one celebrating his divorce after his ex-wife left him for his mate.
While Bailey himself previously put money behind the ‘Will you marry me Tamsin?’ contest – before proposing to his now-wife.
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