Musselburgh Racecourse will see out 2022 with two Christmas racedays on Mondays 5 and 19 December before preparing for an expected sell-out occasion on New Year’s Day.
The Festive Jumps meeting on Monday is an £80,000 seven race card with the feature race the two-mile Everyrace Live on Racing TV juvenile hurdle, supported by a £15,000 three mile handicap hurdle.
Members of the neighbouring Elite Loretto Choir will get racegoers into the festive spirt with a selection of seasonal tunes and representatives from the East Lothian Foodbank (ELF) will be at the racecourse to raise funds.
Supported by the Trussell Trust, ELF are working to provide Christmas boxes for local families to ensure they have the ingredients to enjoy a festive meal. As part of a continued partnership with ELF, the racecourse will provide a free adult ticket to the race meeting on Tuesday 3January for all recipients living in the Musselburgh area.
The £50,000 Christmas Jumper Race Day on 19 December is another seven race card with the feature race the £10,000 Watch on Racing TV novice handicap chase over 2 miles 4 furlongs. Musselburgh staff will be wearing Christmas jumpers and are encouraging race goers to do the same, with prizes for the best festive jumpers.
Aisling Johnston, Musselburgh Racecourse marketing manager, said: “Monday racing in the run up to Christmas can be a nice escape from the frenzy of city centre shopping, but we will be doing our bit to spread good cheer and to get race goers in to the festive spirit.
“We are happy to welcome again East Lothian Food Bank and to support them supporting local families, and we are delighted that the talented choir from neighbouring Loretto School will be here on 5 December.
“At our meeting on 19 December we are hoping to see lots of race goers sporting Christmas jumpers at what will be our last race day of 2022 before we prep for the big meeting on New Year’s Day.”
Gates open on both days at 11am and general admission tickets priced £20 can be purchased online by visiting www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk
