Musselburgh stages the first of its 10 fixture £640,000 National Hunt season on Wednesday (8 Nov) with a six-card meeting featuring prize money of £43,000.
The season’s total prize pot is similar to last year at the East Lothian track with one less jumps fixture being held in 2017-18.
High profile meetings include the festive favourite on New Year’s Day and the annual bet365 Scottish Cheltenham Trials Weekend on 3 and 4 February which attracts the leading trainers looking for challenging prep races leading up to the Cheltenham Festival and the Aintree Grand National.
Racecourse chief executive Bill Farnsworth is hoping the increasingly popular 1 January meeting will improve on last year’s record attendance of 6400 and with more than £110,000 on offer, including the £30,000 Totepool Hogmaneigh Hurdle feature race, there is plenty to appeal to the top stables and racing fans alike.
For sporting fans who like all types of racing action, Musselburgh also plays host that day to the finals of the traditional New Year Sprint, now in its 149th year and the world’s oldest athletics handicap race.
Musselburgh’s much anticipated bet365 Scottish Cheltenham Trials Weekend at the start of February will have almost £250,00 prize money on offer and on the first day (Sat 3 Feb) centre stage is the £40,000 bet365 Edinburgh National, a stayer’s contest over four miles, supported by the bet365 Scottish Champion Steeple Chase over half that distance. Four key Cheltenham hurdle trials form the core of the second day (Sunday 4 Feb) led by the Class 1 Listed bet365 Scottish Triumph Hurdle Trial and the bet365 Scottish County Hurdle.
Bill Farnsworth said: “We believe we have produced another excellent jumps programme with a mixture of high-value glamour meetings and competitive race days which will appeal to our National Hunt fans over the winter months.
“The large crowd and atmosphere at our first-foot meeting on New Years’ Day makes this one of the best sporting events in Scotland over the festive period. Its popularity continues to grow and my advice would be to book tickets well in advance so that you are not disappointed if the fixture sells out.
“The bet365 Scottish Cheltenham Trials boasts a full programme of high-quality prep races for the Festival proper and it’s no exaggeration to say that each February Musselburgh is firmly on the map for the country’s leading owners and trainers.”
Gates open on Wednesday 8 November at 11am and the first race is at 12.45pm. To book in advance and for more information on Musselburgh’s jump season fixture list, visit www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk
Musselburgh Racecourse is now at the forefront of accessible sporting venues following the launch of Scottish Racing’s new Access Statements, which promotes the highest possible standards of customer experience for everyone, regardless of age or ability.
The Access Statements were developed in conjunction with VisitScotland’s Accessible Tourism Scotland initiative, a drive to help venues better cater for the requirements of people with access needs, including those with physical, sensory or learning disabilities, elderly visitors and parents with small children.
These access guides allow potential visitors to plan their trip from the comfort of their own home via their PC, tablet or mobile phone and informs visitors with access needs of every aspect of the venue, from car parking and transport, to access to the amenities within each venue.
The Access guide gives detailed information on gradients and widths of pathways, ramp and door access, lifts, information points and customer services and viewing platforms around the course.
Scotland is already one of the world’s leading tourist destinations and it is hoped that this is one further step towards all venues and attractions in Scotland becoming accessible to all. Currently, of the 11 million disabled people in Britain, only 2 million take a holiday, because they find it too difficult to gauge accessibility.
Scottish Racing Manager, Delly Innes, said: “Our Access Statements further demonstrate that racing in Scotland is accessible to everyone and anyone. All five of our Scottish racecourses pride themselves on the high standards of staff training and customer service that is on offer to any racegoer, notwithstanding their ability.”
Musselburgh Racecourse senior operations and commercial manager, Sarah Montgomery, added: “The Access Statement is an excellent way of promoting our racecourses as open to all and it underlines our commitment to making a day spent racing at Musselburgh as enjoyable as possible for people of all ages and abilities.”
Meanwhile, Musselburgh is back racing on Saturday (Sept 16) when it stages the Caledonian Cup Race Day. The 1m 5 furlong feature race, the £25,000 Caledonian Cup Handicap, has attracted entries from some of the UK’s leading stables, including Sir Mark Prescott and William Haggas.
Leading the Scottish challenge Iain Jardine has Tor down for the trip, which won at Chester last month, while Carluke-based Keith Dalgleish is expected to field Somnambulist and Taxmeifyoucan, which has won four of its last five races.
Gates open on Saturday at 1pm, first race is off at 3.30pm and the last race is 6.45pm. For more information and to book tickets please visit www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk
The Musselburgh Racecourse Access Guide can be viewed and downloaded by visiting https://www.accessibilityguides.org/content/scottish-racing-musselburgh-racecourse
