Thursday September 26th 2019
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
The new operator of Musselburgh Racecourse is expected to be announced next week after its racing licence was extended to the end of the year.
East Lothian Council has been overseeing the hunt for a third party operator to take over the running of the course since last year.
At a meeting of Musselburgh Racing Associated Committee (MRAC) this week it was agreed a meeting would be held on Tuesday to announce a preferred bidder.
The meeting is expected to be held at Musselburgh Racecourse.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) placed the course on temporary licences after governance of the facility through its previous management committee Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee sparked concern.
The previous committee which was made up of elected East Lothian Councillors and representatives of Lothians Racing Syndicate, had been at war for a number of years and the BHA threatened to suspend racing unless an independent review was carried out.
That review led to the committee being replaced by MRAC and moves launched to find a new operator to take over the course.
The current temporary licence was due to expire on October 15 when it was anticipated the new operator would be ready to take the helm, however a meeting of MRAC was told this week that it had been extended to December 31.
The committee was told this would ensure the transition to new operators would not be rushed.
Among the front runners to take over the racecourse are Arena Racing Company, Chester Racecourse and and Jockey Club Racecourse.
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