Racing: Jumpers in the picture as York falls to the weather

National Hunt enthusiasts and those who mourn the long- departed quick-fire style of the ITV Seven will have a pleasant surprise today when Channel 4 televises seven races from Bangor and Worcester instead of the abandoned meeting at York.

After the Knavesmire yesterday failed to recover from the soaking it received earlier in the week, which also caused the abandonment of Thursday's card, Channel 4 moved quickly to switch coverage to the two jump meetings.

Meanwhile York's clerk of the course, John Smith, apologised following the abandonment of the fixture - earlier there had been encouraging noises from the track about prospects of racing going ahead.

"We had good drying weather overnight but there are patches of false ground," Smith said. "In the interests of safety, we couldn't take the risk. It's very disappointing and I can only apologise to the racing public."