Local Community

We enjoy a close relationship with the local community, especially through the input that local Councillors have on our Committee. We work hard to ensure that the people within Musselburgh are proud of the racecourse, with its high quality facilities and range of events that are hosted here.

Musselburgh Racecourse welcomes the opportunity to support local charities and be an active part within the local community.

The racecourse has an annual nominated charity, which through various activities raises approx £5000 per year. Recent charities to benefit from this partnership have been Macmillan Cancer Support, Muirfield Riding for the Disabled and NSPCC Scotland.

Throughout the year the racecourse also gives a large number of admission tickets to local charities for use in prize draws and auctions. In 2010 the total value of tickets distributed to local charities was £4,000.

Another Community benefit is the amount that the racecourse provides for young people. The racecourse has free admission to 16 and under’s and on Family Days we provide a large amount of entertainments, all for free. Such as fairground rides, face painting and bouncy castles.

The racecourse also hosts educational days for local schools through the support from the British Horseracing Educations and Standards Trust (BHEST). BHEST attend some of our family days with their excellent Equicisor (a mechanical horse which trainee jockeys use), horseracing displays and information on careers in racing.

Senior Citizens are a significant proportion of racegoers at our race meetings and are very important to us. One of the measures taken for 2011 is to provide an increased discount to all Senior Citizens so that on every meeting (except Ladies Day)- regardless of the full adult price, senior citizens can come racing for just £10 per person. Other groups to benefit from this discount are customers who are unemployed or are students in full time education.

Finally, during the severe winter weather conditions experienced in December 2010, the Musselburgh Groundstaff were contracted to the Council to assist the clearance of the Musselburgh roads and pavements from snow and ice. This was very well received by residents to the extent that the racecourse received phone calls and correspondence to thank the Groundstaff and the Racecourse. We were happy to provide such a vital service in such extreme weather conditions.

Beyond the actual horse racing events we are pleased to be the venue for many community activities, such as The Historical New Year Sprint, Silver Arrow, The Edinburgh Half Marathon, a two day Harness Race meeting and events connected to The Honest Toun celebrations.

Previous events to be held at the racecourse have included the Fireworks and The Girl Guides 150^th Anniversary in 2010.

We look forward to hosting every one of these events and range of activities and we are always open to discussing how Musselburgh Racecourse can continue to build links with the local community.