Officials at the St. John's Racing and Entertainment Centre in Goulds, Newfoundland were forced to cancel the scheduled Sunday, October 18 card of racing after flood waters wreaked havoc at the local oval

. Trot Insider has obtained photos of the flooding and has spoken to general manager Brett Whelan regarding the situation.

"It had rained quite a bit for about three and a half weeks," Whelan explained, "and heading into this past weekend it rained really hard on the Wednesday and then the Friday and Saturday."

Whelan told Trot Insider that horsemen knew that the flooding would be coming and were able to move their stock from the most flood-prone barns first.

"The flooding usually only occurs in the spring when the snow is melting," said Whelan, who explained that the track is right beside a lake which collects rainwater from the town via a river.

"There has been a lot of development in the area as of late, and areas that used to be able to hold some of the water are not able to hold it anymore. As a result, more water flows out to the lake, which leads to the flooding."

Whelan told Trot Insider that a make-up date for the washed-out card has yet to be decided on.

All photos are courtesy of St. John's Racing and Entertainment Centre track photographer Katie Howlett.