NATIONAL Hunt racing continues in the grip of the big freeze with Doncaster’s meeting on Wednesday the latest to be abandoned.

And with little sign of a thaw the prospects of a second full week without jumps action looks likely.

Wednesday’s meetings at Doncaster and Kelso are now off, while prospects for the rest of the week are similarly bleak.

With right inches of snow on the track and more forecast, Doncaster’s clerk of the course David Williams said: “It was an inevitable outcome really. There was no point delaying the decision any longer so we brought forward the inspection.

“It is thawing a little bit today, but there is a lot more snow forecast and it would take a significant rise in the temperature to shift what we have got. Our next fixture is the Sky Bet Chase two-day meeting on January 29 and 30 when we have three Grade Twos as well so we have our fingers crossed we are up and running by then.”

Thursday’s meetings at Catterick and Towcester are subject to inspections today at noon and 10am respectively.

The outlook at both looks pretty grim with Robert Bellamy at Towcester saying: “The track is frozen solid and there are five inches of snow on it. I haven’t been able to get to the track for a week but I’m going in tomorrow to have a look.

“The forecast is for similar weather over the coming days, not really rising above freezing and with the wind chill, it could feel more like –5C. I would think the result of the inspection is probably inevitable and the sooner we let people know the better.”

Kempton is one of the all-weather tracks who have been racing, but their National Hunt fixture this Saturday is in doubt. It must pass a 10am inspection today, while the afternoon’s Flat meeting will be checked at 7.30am due to the threat of heavy snow.

Today’s Wolverhampton card also faces an 8am inspection.

Prospects of any turf racing look slim, and Betfair go 8-11 that none takes place before January 18.