Sometimes punters are left in the dark when their horse fails to run on or it gets lost in the run.
But a new challenge greeted punters at the main NSW TAB meeting on Thursday when a massive dust storm descended on the Tamworth course about 3.30pm just as the quaddie was about to get underway.
Day turned to night and the meeting was put on hold. The meeting resumed after about an hour as the dust cleared. Sandstorm was a popular pick later in race six.
On track Sky Channel broadcaster Gary Harley was heard to quip "There's no way we could even drive out of here, we might have to camp here tonight."
Dust storms again hit the state in many areas drifting even to the coast this time. More than 275,000 square kilometres of land stretching from Victoria to NSW to South Australia carried dust storms on Thursday.
Unfortunately the dust storm in Tamworth coincided with the start of the Country Music Festival. On the good side some rain is forecast for the north over the next few days that should clear the air.