Harness race coordinator Randy Warrick tells spectators about the postponement of Saturday's races. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

Early Saturday morning, as rain pelted down onto the orange clay and turned it into soggy, dark-red mud, a decision was made to postpone Aiken's Harness Races, the final leg of the Triple Crown, until next Saturday.

"We made the only prudent decision available to us at 8:30 a.m. At the time it was still raining hard," said Randy Warrick, a coordinator for the event benefiting the University of South Carolina Aiken's athletic department, which he directs. "People are disappointed, but no one is more disappointed than I am. I've been working toward this day for three months now."

By post time at 1 p.m., the sun shone through partly cloudy skies, making it even harder for Mr. Warrick to stand at the entrance and turn away car after car.

Driving through the mud puddles, most of the disenchanted race-goers drove up the driveway and turned around to exit, but some decided to make the most of the situation and their loaded picnic baskets.

Zoe Hendrix, of Lexington County, and Emily Turner, of Monticello, made the trip with their husbands as one of the many outings the friends of 60 years often take together.

What's Next: Aiken Harness Race is postponed until next Saturday. The gates at McGhees' Mile Track will open at 10 a.m., and the post time is 1 p.m. Tickets already purchased will be honored, and admission at the gate will cost $10 for adults and $6 for children over 6.

"We are disappointed, but we understand. It's a good day though, anytime we get together we have fun," Mrs. Turner said. "We had all this nice lunch packed, so we decided to sit down and eat."

Others joined in, eating the food they had prepared. Some parents toured the barn area with children, pointing out the horses standing quietly in the stalls.

As for the horses, Mrs. McGhee said that the owners were contacted before the decision was made to postpone and that most were willing to stay an extra week. Usually, the standardbred trotters and pacers return to the North after the harness races.

"I still feel like we're going to get a lot more rain this afternoon," Mr. Warrick said. The forecast is calling for rain through today.

Reach Carly Phillips at (803) 648-1395 or carly.phillips@augustachronicle.com.