MUSSELBURGH Racecourse has lost its licence to hold events.

And hundreds of jobs will be put in jeopardy if it is forced to cancel next week’s fixture, it has been claimed.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) had given the Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee (MJRC) which runs the course until today (Thursday) to meet its call for an independent review of governance at the course, and acceptance that any recommendations would be acted on.

Otherwise, it said it would be forced to cancel the meeting next Friday (July 14).

However, East Lothian Council leader Willie Innes, who chairs the committee, insisted that the MJRC would not make a decision until it met next week to discuss the BHA demands.

The racecourse’s latest three-month temporary licence expired last Friday after months of dispute regarding the management of the racecourse by MJRC, which is a mix of members of East Lothian Council and of Lothian Racing Syndicate (LRS), with councillors having a majority.

In April, the Courier revealed racecourse staff were threatening industrial action after a vote of no confidence in the MJRC.

Confirming that the racecourse had lost its licence, the BHA stated on Friday: “The BHA can confirm that MJRC has not met the conditions set by the BHA for the renewal of its racecourse licence by the required deadline of June 30. This is despite frequent ongoing discussions with the MJRC initiated by the BHA on the issues of concern since late in 2016.

“Accordingly, Musselburgh racecourse’s licence has, for the time being, lapsed.

“While discussions continue – and it remains open to the MJRC to reapply for a licence at any time – it is very much in the hands of the MJRC to meet the necessary licence conditions so that racing can continue at Musselburgh.”

The BHA made it clear it would not grant a licence for the next scheduled races next Friday unless it had an agreement from the committee by today at the latest.

A spokesman said: “The BHA requires a licence to be in place by July 6 in order to give certainty to everyone concerned.

“That means, should it wish to continue with the fixture on July 14, the MJRC must provide an unequivocal commitment to meeting the licence conditions by close of business on July 6.

“Should that not be forthcoming, the BHA will confirm cancellation of the fixture at that time.”

Mr Innes appealed to the BHA not to cancel the fixture, insisting he could not make a decision until the meeting next week.

He said a demand from the BHA for the MJRC to accept any recommendations from a review of its governance without question was not acceptable.

But he came under fire from opposition politicians, who insisted the problems with the licence had been ongoing for some time.

Mr Innes, who took over as chairman of the MJRC at the first meeting of East Lothian Council following May’s local government elections, said: “I am very open to views on the future of the racecourse, in terms of ensuring we continue to operate a successful facility and are able to maximise its value to East Lothian.

“The BHA has asked for a commitment to putting review recommendations into place – regardless of what they are.

“It is vital, however, that there is a full and proper opportunity to consider the recommendations of any review. The racecourse buildings are of course owned by the council – and therefore elected members are accountable to the people of East Lothian for these. The MJRC is an associated committee of the council.

“We therefore need to ensure that the outcome is one which enables the continuation of a successful racecourse, harnessing both democratic accountability and horse-racing expertise, in the best interests of local people.”

John Prideaux, one of three LRS members on the committee, said Mr Innes’ decision had meant the fixture would not go ahead.

He said the course, which employs 15 full-time staff and would have had up to 250 support staff on duty at the next race meeting, would not be the only loser, with local pubs, hotels, restaurants, taxi and coach firms also losing out from the significant trade the racecourse generates.

Mr Prideaux said: “By delaying this meeting to next week, Councillor Innes is as good as saying Musselburgh won’t race on July 14 and he fails to grasp this will cause immense damage to the racecourse.

“He is playing with people’s livelihoods, many who will be out of pocket if this fixture does not go ahead, not to mention damaging a local economy which needs all the help it can get.

“The BHA first raised concerns in December and it took MJRC three months to arrange a meeting with them at which one of the councillors didn’t even bother to attend. This didn’t suddenly flare up last week and this head-in-the-sand approach led to the BHA finally losing patience and not renewing our licence to race.”

Musselburgh Racecourse chief executive Bill Farnsworth urged all involved to work to ensure racing could continue.

He said: “We hope that all involved in this situation will put the interests of Musselburgh Racecourse first and come to a satisfactory agreement which allows racing to continue at Musselburgh.”

Councillor Stuart Currie, chairman of Musselburgh Common Good Fund, which owns the land the racecourse is situated on, said: “I will not stand by and allow a five-star visitor attraction, jobs hub and jewel in our tourism crown to be brought to its knees by the failure of Councillor Innes and his colleagues to institute an immediate review of governance.”

Miles Briggs, Conservative MSP for Lothian and convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Scottish Horseracing & Bloodstock Industries, said he shared concerns about the impact of what he described as a “very serious and regrettable state of affairs”.

Mr Briggs said: “Even at this late stage I urge East Lothian Council to resolve this matter with every urgency to ensure that July’s racing can go ahead.

“The loss of racing at Musselburgh would be totally unacceptable and a hammer-blow, not just to hard-working racecourse staff but to the whole economy.”