MUSSELBURGH stages the first of its 10 fixture £640,000 National Hunt season tomorrow 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 February 3 and 4 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 January 1 meeting will improve on last year’s record attendance of 6,400 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.
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.
“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.”
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