Ryall said it had been “one of the most extreme summers in terms of weather”, leaving Wincanton’s course “pretty hard” and unfit for racing.

“The forecast is changing and rain looks to be on the horizon, finally, so we’re just taking every week as it comes and doing our best rain dance, really,” he said.

Wincanton Racecourse cancelled its first meet last October as well as two others in March year due to the lack of rain.

Ryall said the track probably needs 200-250mm of steady rain over the next six to eight weeks to avoid cancelling it again.

While that would be higher than average, Ryall said it would not be unheard of, noting that 160mm of rain fell in September 2024.

He said it would be a “massive disappointment” to lose any fixtures, but especially the 25 October fixture, which is the course’s charity race day.

The racecourse does have access to a small reservoir, but this only refills when it rains, and it would be very costly to expand it or build a new one, he said.

“If we felt this was going to become a regular occurrence every summer, we have options to start the season later.”