Rangiora closed after wind damage

Rangiora racecourse is out of action "until further notice" after gale force winds caused widespread damage over the weekend.

Gusts of around 200 kilometres an hour swept acrosss the province, with Rangiora racecourse losing around 600 tons of its racing surface.

"The track is down to its base in some parts," says Harness Racing New Zealand's Track and Venue Inspector John Denton, who was on site first thing this morning.

"The worst part is just by the home bend."

A grader will start work today on re-distributing the remaining surface equally before tons of new product is trucked in during the week.

"We hope to have the job completed by the end of the week," says Denton, "but until further notice the track is closed."

Wednesday's scheduled trials at the track have been abandoned. Instead Ashburton's trials will now be delayed a day, from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Addington also suffered some damage over the weekend, but, according to Denton, "to a far lesser degree."

Repairs will be carried out during the week and there's not expected to be any disruption to Friday's meeting.