To avoid the hottest part of the day, Racing Victoria has brought forward the start of the race meeting at Echuca on Friday.

With temperatures expected to peak at 41 degrees on Friday afternoon, RV has brought forward the start of the meeting to 11.10am with the final race to be run at 2.20pm.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting temperatures in the area to reach in excess 40 degrees between 3 and 4pm.

With that in mind, RV has taken the decision to bring the meeting forward for the safety and wellbeing of horses and jockeys.

RV will continue to monitor the situation and liaise with the BOM, with a final decision on whether the meeting proceeds to be taken on Thursday.

Meetings are also scheduled on Friday at the seaside town of Warrnambool and The Valley at night.

At this stage The Valley meeting will proceed as scheduled, with the BOM predicting a cool change from around 5pm with temperatures set to drop below 30 degrees by around 7pm.

Acceptances for all three meetings are set to be taken on Wednesday.