Yesterday's meeting at Redcar was abandoned in controversial circumstances when a hastily-organised inspection of the course found the track to be in an unraceable condition.

Five minutes after the advertised first race time of 1.55pm it was announced that the meeting had been called off ''in the interests of safety, due to the track being rough and uneven''.

The state of the track, which had been officially described as 'Good to firm, firm in places (watered)', had been brought to the attention of the stewards at 1pm by Newmarket-based trainer Nick Littmoden and a deputation of officials, trainers, owners and jockeys was assembled to walk the course.

Those in the party included Kevin Darley, Richard Quinn, John Carroll, Tony McGlone, Tyrone Williams and Paul Goode, while Tim Easterby, George Moore, Littmoden and Bill Turner were among the trainers' representatives.

On their return the stewards held an inquiry into the claims and in view of the concerns which had been expressed, it was no surprise that the outcome was to abandon the meeting.

Stewards' secretary Anthony Gillam explained: ''The ground is not safe for horse and rider, from a welfare angle you could not ask horses to race on it and it obviously it follows that it was not safe to ride on it was a unanimous decision by the stewards.

''The matter was brought to the attention of the stewards by Mr Littmoden and then the jockeys asked for an official inspection after being told that the ground was unsafe.''

Littmoden was furious and reasoned: ''It is a disgrace, I would not canter a horse to post on it, I think I was the first one to withdraw horses.

"I have travelled up from Newmarket and I don't think I should have to get here and tell them it is dangerous I would not run on it myself!

''I think really the days of this sort of thing happening has got to stop, we have overnighted horses and staff and I have driven up but who is going to be expected to pick up the bill? We know the answer to that one.''

Milton Bradley brought four horses on the 520-mile round trip from Chepstow and he feared the worst when he arrived at the course on Sunday night.

He explained: ''I walked it when I got here and I said that if they race it would be the hardest and roughest ground I have seen in years.

''I think they were right to call it off they have just thrown loose dirt in the holes and and you could turn your ankle just walking on it.''

Easterby had no hesitation in withdrawing the two-year-old Travelling Times from the first race and said: ''It is like concrete, there is no way you would canter on it.''

Tyrone Williams echoed those sentiments and added: ''It is full of holes and you can put your hand in the part where the drains are and pull stones out of it. Some holes have not been filled in after the meeting here 10 days ago.''

Colleague Tony McGlone added: ''It is dangerous because of the holes, Mr (Henry) Cecil would not gallop a horse on it and it is not safe.''

Clerk of the Course, John Gundill, in between dealing with trainers and owners seeking to lodge claims for the expenses they had incurred, said: ''I refute the allegations that the work on the course had been left until the last minute (following the last meeting).

''We had men straight on the course the day after racing a week last Thursday when we had 96 runners on 'soft, heavy in places' ground and it rained all day.

''They finished filling on Saturday lunchtime.''

When asked why the problem had not been spotted earlier, he added: ''I wasn't aware that there was a problem at all to the extent which has been highlighted today.''

The course is due to race again on May 28 and Gundill went on: ''We will address the situation and see what the reports say and the men will be back on the track tomorrow.

''As far as compensations claims are concerned I am sure the board of directors will look at the situation as a whole, but I can't comment on anything specific today.''

Punters will receive a refund on the price of members' badges or they can be used for another meeting. Racegoers in Tattersalls have been issued with abandonment tickets which can also be refunded.

Jockey Club spokesman John Maxse confirmed that investigations were already under way into the circumstances surrounding the abandonment of the meeting.

''We are very concerned that the situation should arise and are treating the matter very seriously,'' he said.

''We have already set about asking the Redcar executive to provide us with a full report and breakdown of the repair work and maintenance carried out on the course following the last meeting.''

Under the Rules of Racing, the course can be fined up to £30,000 if the matter goes to a formal inquiry.

''Ron Barry, the northern inspector of courses, will also be visiting well in advance of the next meeting,'' added Maxse.

The case follows hot on the heels of similar controversy at Hexham on Saturday when leading northern trainer Nicky Richards blasted conditions as ''disgraceful''.