Free Musselburgh races no April fool

British racegoers are to get a free month of enjoying the Sport of Kings - and Musselburgh is leading the way.

The East Lothian track will be the first to open its doors on Friday, April 1 - and it's no joke.

It's all part of a nationwide venture by Racing for Change, in which 25 racecourses will take part, including the fixture at Perth on Wednesday, April 27, and follows on a similar scheme last year which ran for a week and saw racecourse attendances soar by 40,000.

Musselburgh racecourse boss Bill Farnsworth said "We are delighted to be part of this scheme which should help to give racing a really big boost.

"In the past we have organised free days here ourselves when the cost has been underwritten by our track bookmakers. In a three-year period between 2007 and 2009, we had a free day here on a Monday afternoon in July and it proved very popular, but we were unable to do it last summer as we lost that fixture

"The bookmakers and caterers here are again helping to underwrite the costs and because it is a Friday afternoon and the start of the weekend, people may have a little more time, so we are hoping for nice weather and a big crowd.

"It comes just three weeks before our major two-day Easter meeting and we see it as the perfect 'shop window' for our new fixture on Easter Saturday, on which we will have three 20,000 races."

The national initiative runs from April 1-27 and includes afternoon and evening meetings on both the flat and over jumps. Some of the biggest and most famous racecourses in the world are taking part including Ascot, Epsom and Newmarket.

Rod Street, chief executive of Racing for Change, said "Our aim is to appeal to people who have never been to a racecourse. There will be staff, literature and displays to explain more about the sport."

Musselburgh's fixture will be entirely free, but advance booking is essential either at www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk or telephone [phone]. Some of the meetings at other tracks may be limited to free entry to just one particular enclosure or to 500 tickets on a first come-first served basis. The latter applies to the Perth fixture and bookings can be made from today on www.lovetheraces.com or directly to the racecourse involved.