HISTORY is made in the county today (Friday) as Musselburgh Racecourse becomes the first UK course to stage turf racing on Good Friday.

The Good Friday meeting, which also signals the start of the 17-fixture Scottish Flat season at the course, has a bumper prize pool of £150,000.

It has been a good period for the course, with its 10th-anniversary Stobo Castle Ladies Day, taking place on June 14, selling out in record time.

During the close season, racecourse management have invested £250,000 in facility upgrades, which includes a refurbishment of the popular Pinkies Bar, a new landscaped raised viewing area in front of the grandstand and improved access roads.

Other changes which will enhance the visitor experience include improved signage and a new ‘fast track’ entrance, which will minimise queuing for race-goers who have booked in advance.

Bill Farnsworth, Musselburgh Racecourse general manager, said: “We are starting the flat season on a high with Stobo Castle Ladies Day already sold out and a 9,000 record attendance guaranteed.

“We are also creating a historic first by staging the first turf racing on a Good Friday and we expect a healthy crowd which we can build on over the next two to three years, in the same way we have done with our Easter Sunday meeting.

“It’s a new fixture and, like anything which is new, it will take time to establish its credentials, but we believe we have the makings of an excellent Easter Racing Festival, with two days of quality and family racing.

“Record prize money over the season will continue to attract the leading trainers and jockeys but equally important is the significant investment we are making in improving the facilities at Musselburgh. We are focused on maintaining our five-star visitor status and reputation as one of the UK’s most forward-thinking racecourses.” Today’s Grade 2 feature race, the £50,000 Totepool Royal Mile Handicap Stakes, is expected to pull in a strong field, attracting some of the country’s leading three-year-olds.

Easter Sunday’s racing is a seven-race programme featuring the Totepool Musselburgh Gold Cup and a host of free family entertainments including fairground rides, trampolines, roundabout, stilt walkers and a bouncy castle.

Entry is free for every child accompanied by an adult and they will each receive a free chocolate from the Easter Bunny.

Seasonal highlights include the £60,000 Edinburgh Cup on Saturday, June 7, and Musselburgh’s first ever £100,000 race, the William Hill Scottish Sprint Cup, which is the feature race at Stobo Castle Ladies Day, when there is also a special after-racing party hosted by Radio One breakfast show presenter Scott Mills.

To find out more about Musselburgh’s fixtures, visit the course website at www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk