Musselburgh Racecourse

I’ve been to a few race courses in the UK and abroad and I have to say that this is genuinely my favourite so far. I went to a family day here for the first time only a few weeks ago and man was I impressed…
MRC has a lovely atmosphere as soon as you walk through the turnstile. It seems almost serene, even when it’s buzzing with race-​goers in between each race.
I’ve now been to MRC twice, once at a day event and then again for a carnival evening. The only bug bear of the place being the long queues at the cash machine as it takes at least 5 minutes per person to get money out… I think they may be running on 3G or wifi with a router that’s miles away! Anyway, the short of it is that it needs sorting.
I think it depends on what kind of race day it is with regards to the food stalls that are there. The fish & chip van is worth a mention for the chips as they were the best ones I’ve had from a van. Very tasty! The last meet I went to they had a sushi van which was actually quite delicious and made a great change to the usual eateries you would find at any race track. Oh and there’s a S. Luca ice cream van… really quaint and yummy!
Surprisingly the majority of the place is buggy friendly and the fact that there are so many family days on during the race season is a testament to that welcoming quality it has.
I’m happy to say I live around the corner from here and will definitely be inviting friends and family in the future to MRC.

A day at the races has never been on my list of fun days out. But I am a changed man.
Ventured along here the other week on the opening day for a mate’s stag do, and had an absolute blast. And that had nothing to do with the fact I walked away in profit…
Okay perhaps 1 star had soemthing to do with that. Bt all my pre-​conceptions of what to expect from a day at Musselburgh Racecourse were quashed within an hour.
I expected over-​priced, watered-​down drinks. After all where else could you get your refreshments from? For the day we belonged to them.
But no, the proces at MRC are no more expensive than a city centre bar or a night in Stockbridge. And there are plenty of bars and tents to get your beverages from, even Hamilton’s of (the aformentioned) Stockbridge provide a cocktail tent here for those not after a pint or voddy and coke.
Food is provided by way of a number of stands, the like of which you might find at a festival or football match. One in particular provided the crispiest, best takeaway chips I’ve tried in a long long time.
And of course there’s the racing itself. 7 races throughout the day, often intermingled with races from other parts of the country fed to us by way of some massive screens about the place. Whether you indulge in a flutter or not, it’s a good laugh. But I defy anyone who puts on one wee bet, not to put on another. Good fun if you don’t take it too seriously.
Admittedly we got lucky with the weather. The day was awesomely sunny, with only a few minutes rain which did little to hamper our mood, and attracted a large crowd, many of whom were familiar faces to me, so that was another plus point to the experience. The whole day carried a festival atmosphere about it, largely down to the presence of the sun.
The only thing I found lacking throughout the day was a bit of music. MRC would improve massively if they had a live band on hand, either out in the sun or within the confines of a tent. Or a DJ or even just a jukebox, the introduction of music — between races of course — would go a long way to increasing the draw of the MRC.
Go now before the sun’s gone.

I’ve only been once so far, during the Edinburgh Festival but what a fantastically fun day out! The venue is very Lux after its multi-​million pound refurb a few years ago.
The course has been in operation since 1816 and offers a great range of events including a Ladies day, Family days and Christmas and New Year events. They also have great social events and of course serious racing.
There are lots of ticket options, including ones which include a meal or champagne etc but whichever you get I recommend: firstly booking in advance (it’s cheaper than buying it on the day and you avoid the queues) and secondly, if you can wangle it, getting a ticket with access to the parade ring as checking the horses out before the race totally makes up your mind which horse you want to take a flutter on.
There are lots of food and drink venues (about 8 not including the picnic area) and they range from from vans all the way up to serious fine dining. That said there are still monster queues for the bars and longer ones for the toilets… almost as long as the queue of cars in the instant traffic jam that starts immediately after the race. If you’re an impatient person, or need to be somewhere, leave early to avoid the rush.
Go and have fun but don’t lose too much money!

On most days*, groups of 12 or more buying online only will qualify for an additional £3 discount per admission ticket (£15 Weekends, £10 Weekdays).
This is a brilliant day/​evening out with it’s beer tents and champagne to burgers and fine dining, there really is something for every pocket and taste.
It is great fun to gamble a few pennies or a few pounds whatever you can afford and seeing the horses before the race being led around the paddock really makes you feel part of the action.
Really good fun and well worth the admission fee.