Musselburgh Racecourse will kick off a new British Horseracing Authority (BHA) initiative to bolster jump racing in the north.
The East Lothian track will join with Kelso and Carlisle in the Racing Post Go North weekend festival in March 2020 which promises a valuable prize fund and competitive race cards.
In addition to the three new racedays, the BHA said trainers’ yards across the north will support ‘open mornings’ which will give racegoers the opportunity to see behind the scenes of the racing industry.
The cards at Musselburgh and Carlisle will feature three each of the six finals for the Northern Lights series, which has been restructured to run during the core jump season rather than through the calendar year, and also features the addition of a 2m4f chase series, following feedback from trainers.
News of the initiative comes as Musselburgh prepares for its own prime National Hunt weekend, (2 and 3 February) the bet365 Scottish Cheltenham Trials, which features more than £250,000 in prize money and is regarded as an important market for horses aiming for the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals.
Musselburgh Racecourse general manager, Bill Farnsworth, said: “The new Racing Post ‘Go North’ weekend will provide a wonderful beacon in the north during the jump racing year and especially during the winter months. It will provide an action packed weekend, full of variety, which will be great fun for the owners, trainers, jockeys and racegoers alike. We are counting down the days already.”
All three fixtures will receive support from the BHA development fund in order to boost prize-money on offer.
Milnathort-based trainer Lucinda Russell said: “It’s great to see the industry working together to give trainers, owners and yards based in the north some really decent prize-money to aim towards at the end of the jump season. It’s definitely something we’ll be looking to support with our horses next spring and I’m sure others in the area will do so too.”
Paul Johnson, head of racing at the BHA, said: “We want this series of fixtures to shine a spotlight on the northern jump racing scene and, in doing so, create an end-of-season event that owners and trainers in the north, and many of their horses, can realistically target.”
Racing Post editor Tom Kerr said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the Racing Post ‘Go North’ Weekend, which will offer northern and Scottish trainers, jockeys, owners and racegoers three days of high-quality racing on home turf next March. This weekend of high-quality racing will shine a light on some of the great racecourses, trainers and jockeys operating in the north and continue the important work that has already been done to support and reinvigorate the sport in this part of the world.”
Musselburgh gets the 2020 Racing Post Go North programme under way on Friday 20 March with Kelso racing on Saturday 21 March and Carlisle on Sunday 22.
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