There were doubts about the condition of the course on Monday

Middleham trainer Mark Johnston expressed mixed emotions about the cancellation of the first day of the Ebor meeting at York.

Tuesday's racing was called off because of heavy rain and Wednesday's card has also been abandoned.

Johnston told BBC Radio York: "We've got owners that have travelled a long way to come and see their horses.

"But do we really want to be racing our horses if the conditions are not really very suitable?"

He added: "So where it's borderline I'd almost rather see it cancelled than race.

There's no horse that really likes to race on heavy ground or really soft ground. Trainer Mark Johnston

York racecourse officials are looking at rescheduling the most valuable races and Johnston said this could effect some of the entries.

"There'll be winners and losers because there'll be those who may have been struggling to get ready for the day and if they were given an opportunity to go again in a few days time they'll be at an advantage.

"Others who were timed to perfection and peaking today will maybe lose out.

"Really it's down to who would handle the heavy ground. There's no horse that really likes to race on heavy ground or really soft ground.

"There's just those that handle it better than others so from my point of view I think it spoils the racing."

An inspection is planned for noon on Wednesday to decide whether Thursday's card will go ahead.

The meeting could also be extended to include an extra day on Saturday.