Race type - Mixed
Musselburgh
Course details
Racing on the current site dates back to 1816 but it's only since the 1990's that the course has been known as Musselburgh, having formerly been 'Edinburgh', which is actually around eight miles to the west.
Being located next to the coastline of the Firth of Forth, the track is almost flat and the porous nature of the sandy racing surface ensures that the going is rarely testing.
GUIDE - For Racecourse
Right-handed, very flat, 1m2f circuit.
Race meetings in the area were originally staged on the sands at Leith but large crowds necessitated a move to the current site in 1816, thus making Scotland's oldest racecourse. In the early 19th century, crowds of 15,000-plus were frequent and the modern day attendance record was shattered when 9,000 turned up for Ladies' Day in 2011. Formerly known as Edinburgh - the track is just six miles from the Scottish capital - this is a track on a steep upward curve and the newly-introduced Edinburgh Cup, the centrepiece of the track's Derby Day card in June, is the second richest contest run in Scotland behind the Ayr Gold Cup.
Track / Draw Bias
When the ground is good or faster, there is very little bias in all races on the straight course. It's only when the ground is riding soft that we see a slight bias with those horses drawn on the stands' side enjoying a slight edge. It's also worth concentrating on those runners drawn very high in big-field 5f races as they occasionally bounce out and head over to the far rail in search of fresher ground, which ultimately proves to be the fastest part of the track.
Principal Races
In addition to the aforementioned Edinburgh Cup, which will take place over the Derby distance of 1m4f, the track stages the valuable Scottish Sprint Cup (£25k in 2011), which is a handicap run over the minimum distance of 5f and is run at the same early June meeting.
Course Characteristics
Being located next to the coastline of the Firth of Forth, the track is almost flat and the porous nature of the sandy racing surface ensures that the going is rarely testing. The flattened oval-shape makes for long straights - the home straight is around 4f - and sharp bends, which can unbalance the longer-striding more galloping types. Horses frequently make all here and the more astute jockeys can often dictate their own pace on a confirmed front runner.
Top Trainers
Richard Fahey is a frequent visitor from his Yorkshire base and his 29 winners over the past five seasons have been achieved at a respectable strike rate of 17%. Local trainer Jim Goldie also sends out plenty of winners but plenty of losers too judging by a strike rate of just 9%. Bryan Smart is a frequent visitor and his 27 winners at a strike rate of 25% make him a trainer to follow. As you'd expect, the northern based duo of Mark Johnston and 'Sprint King' David Nicholls are regularly on the scoresheet and the latter loves to target the Scottish Sprint Cup.
Top Jockeys
It's Musselburgh that won it for Paul Hanagan - the champion jockey rode a remarkable 39 winners here in the course of landing his two titles. Now retained by Sheikh Hamdan and with the likelihood he will be riding more in the south, there could be more opportunities for the likes of Tom Eaves, who is lying second in the jockeys table to Hanagan with 33 winners, Joe Fanning and Tony Hamilton, who will get the leg up on many of the Fahey runners. Phillip Makin and PJ McDonald should also continue to pay their way.