Musselburgh’s race licence expires amid crisis talks

Temporary permit revoked as row simmers

Official sat mussel burgh racecourse have been given a week to meet conditions laid out by the sports governing body – or be barred from holding race days.

A temporary licence from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) expired yesterday with no solution in place despite weeks of crisis talks.

Now the BHA has set a 6 July deadline for the Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee (MJRC) to demonstrate good governance or it will pull the plug on race night on 14 July.

“Musselburgh Racecourse’s licence has, for the time being, lapsed,” read a statement issued by the Bhalast night.

“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 only granted a temporary licence over concerns at how the course was run, including poor budget planning.

The course is run by notfor-profit entity Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee – made up of four East Lothian councillors and three members of the Lothians Racing Syndicate (LRS).

Issues at the course reported in April included a second vote of no confidence by staff in the leadership of the MJRC.

The course also lost its Investors in People status, a nationally recognised standard.

And the GMB union threatened to ballot members at the course on strike action, with 15 full-time staff and hundreds more on race days.

Despite the problems, business has been booming with a record 70,000 punters last year at events including Ladies Day among its flagship events.

A row between the coun- cil and LRS was brought to a head with former MJRC chair John Caldwell losing his seat in May’s local elections amid staff threats to strike on race days.

“The BHA understands the need to give horsemen, racecourses, betting operators and the public as much notice about future fixture changes as possible,” continued the BHA statement.

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

If the MJRC fail to meet the criteria by close of play on 6 July, the 14 July race night will be scrapped.