Rosehill Gardens meeting moved to Sunday with extreme heat forecast on Saturday

Racing NSW has moved Saturday’s Rosehill meeting with temperatures predicted to hit 41 degrees in western Sydney.

A horse is hosed down after racing on a hot day at Rosehill Gardens. Picture: Getty Images

Racing NSW has made the call to move Saturday’s Rosehill Gardens meeting to Sunday due to the extreme weather forecast for the west of Sydney.

The regulator floated the possibility of a shift on Monday revealing that a final decision would be made prior to the release of final acceptances on Wednesday morning.

But with the forecast getting worse and not better, Racing NSW announced on Wednesday morning the meeting would be pushed back 24 hours on welfare grounds.

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Saturday’s expected top has risen to 41 degrees in the Parramatta area from around 2pm through until 6pm while on Sunday, a top of 24 is tipped by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys said the decision was a straightforward one.

“The welfare of our horses is paramount and we’re not going to risk putting them under any sufferance or pain,” V’landys said.

“I have seen first-hand horses suffering from heat distress and there is no way in the world that we are going to put them under such duress.

“I have also seen jockeys severely affected both physically and mentally from extreme heat.”

Due to the forecast of extreme heat for Rosehill on Sat, Racing NSW will constantly monitor the conditions to determine if the meeting proceeds as scheduled, with a final decision to be made before acceptances are taken on Weds. Should the current forecast remain in place…

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) December 1, 2025

Racing NSW gave consideration to other options, including commencing the meeting on Saturday morning while also shifting the start of the meeting to later in the day.

But with both of those options still incurring inherent risks, the decision was made to push the meeting back a day.

Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse questioned the move of the meeting to Sunday on X, suggesting an early Saturday morning start was the way to go.

But that move would have ultimately seen the meeting in jeopardy due to the state’s stringent hot weather policy.

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Level 2 of the policy states: “In the event that the forecast or current ambient temperature for a race day is 38°C or above, or the WBGT (Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature) shade is 28°C or above, Stewards must take advice from the official veterinarian/s in considering whether to proceed or modify the program for that race meeting”.

Boy oh boy what has gone wrong? Are we & our equine leaders so weak that we/they can’t cope in the heat?
Hello, we live in a “sunburnt country” ☀️ Start the races at 9.30-10am so that they’re over before the heat of the day. Offer free entry & invite families 🐎 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 https://t.co/kYoheirRzY

— Gai Waterhouse AO (@GaiWaterhouse1) December 1, 2025

“Modification of a race program might include the advancement or delay in a schedule if it appears likely the extreme conditions might ease or be avoided.”

A 9.30am start with 35-minute gaps between races would result in a 10-race card running until 2.45pm.

Saturday’s hourly forecast from UbiMet, the weather information used by the Australian Turf Club (ATC), shows the following hourly forecasts: 9am – 29.7, 10am – 32.2, 11am – 34.8, 12pm – 37.5, 1pm – 39.9, 2pm – 40.9, 3pm – 40.5.

The meeting Rosehill Gardens on Saturday is set to be shifted to Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

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“We work with six different (weather) models and it’s highly unlikely the forecast will change between now and Saturday,” BOM senior meteorologist Jonathan How said.

“It’s one of those weather events where it is pretty clear cut that it’s going to be an extremely hot day.

“All the models are saying it’s going to be 40 plus.

“The average is 41, the highest is 44 and the lowest is 40.

“There’s very little chance people are going to get any relief until Sunday.”

Following the annoucement that the meeting was on the move to Sunday, Australian Turf Club (ATC) Interim CEO Steve McMahon said the Club would offer free general admission.

“We have worked closely with Racing NSW to make this decision as early as possible to prepare for the move to Sunday,’’ McMahon said.

“Whilst we apologise for any inconvenience this change has on Members and our customers, horse welfare and safety is our first consideration.

“With such extreme hot weather forecast right across Saturday there was no option but to make horse and participant safety a priority and we wanted to give everyone involved extra time to revise their plans for the weekend.’’

Originally published as Rosehill Gardens meeting moved to Sunday with extreme heat forecast on Saturday