Musselburgh attracts record crowd for New Year's Day meeting

Musselburgh attracted a record crowd for its New Year's Day meeting as more than 6400 racegoers took in Sunday's action.

Superb Story won the Hogmaneigh Hurdle. Pic: Alan Rennie

For the first time, attendance on January 1 broke through the 6000 barrier and was up by 18 per cent on the previous year from 5415 to 6406.

With more than £130,000 prize money on offer, including the feature £40,000 totepool Hogmaneigh Hurdle – won by Superb Story who now heads for the Cheltenham Festival – ITV were also broadcasting live as the station returned to covering British horseracing after a 30-year break.

The sell-out was boosted by athletics fans enjoying the 148th running of the Racing UK New Year Sprint, won by 17-year-old Greg Kelly.

Musselburgh Racecourse chief executive Bill Farnsworth, said: “The day exceeded all expectations and we are delighted with how everything went.

“We had hoped for around 6000 but, with some fine sunshine and dry conditions, people turned out in numbers and we have the foundations to make this one of Scotland’s best race days.

“As always, we discover things we can do better and operationally we have identified several areas on which we can improve and we will make changes to ensure New Year’s Day at Musselburgh continues to thrive.”