Even with the rain pouring early on Saturday morning there was an opportunity for meeting to go ahead as long as the weather cleared in the lead up to lunch.

However, that wasn’t the case and Bathurst Thoroughbred Racing will now be preparing for their next meeting on December 23.

“Western Districts have actually been pretty lucky with the rain. We haven’t had to abandon a meeting for some time,” BTR manager Michelle Tarpenning said.

“It’s great to get some rain but the timing was just unfortunate for us.

“At 11am the stewards, who drove down from Dubbo, made the call to abandon the meeting. 

“It was a tough call to make because it was just some spots on the track that posed some danger, but it’s all about putting horse and jockey safety first.”

The abandonment denied jockey Greg Ryan the chance to continue his impressive form at Bathurst. He’d won 50 per cent of his races at Tyers Park this season.

Attention now turns to next month’s Christmas meeting.

“We’ve got some parties booked. It’s a popular venue because there’s a great atmosphere,” Tarpenning said.