Historic racecourse's first meet

The first new turf horseracing course in Britain for around 80 years has opened on a former opencast mine.

Almost 10,000 race-goers had tickets for the first night's fixture at Ffos Las near Trimsaran in Carmarthenshire.

It has attracted some of the sport's top names including champion jockey Tony McCoy, booked to ride for course owner Dai Walters in the opening race.

The course was built on an old mine and it is already hoped it will challenge some of the best courses in Europe.

More than £20m has been spent building the course, grandstand, stables and infrastructure on the 600 acre site.

The meeting, the first of eight British Horseracing Board fixtures allocated to Ffos Las this year, sold out a week ago.

Almost 250 horses entered for the opening meeting Ffos Las starts at a gallop

General manager John Williams: "From the feedback we've been getting everybody has been so excited about this for so long.

"When the Walters Group bought the land it was basically a filled-in former opencast mine - it was once the largest opencast mine in Europe.

"They've absolutely transformed the place. To build a racecourse on such a site is quite a feat.

"We've had a lot of the top trainers down here and we've had nothing but positive comments and we want to carry that through to today."

Next year it will host 28 meetings, including a three-day flat programme in August and a two-mile £60,000 race on 9 January, which is being framed as the Welsh Champion Hurdle.

Thursday's meeting has attracted interest from far and wide with Mr Williams predicting busy ferries between Ireland and west Wales due to the number of entries from Irish stables.

"This area is also quite a tourist trap, and with the proximity to Ireland there is a huge catchment area," he said.

"Pembroke and Fishguard ports are close by and there is a new Cork to Swansea ferry hopefully starting soon which will open the west of Ireland up to us too."

Mr Williams said it had taken a lot of work to finally get to the starting post.

"The council have been so supportive that we are trying to give as much back to the local community as possible.

"Support from the local community has been 200%. There was a bit of scepticism early doors but as we have got closer to the time people have been saying that it is amazing."

Race director Mark Kershaw, who used to have a similar role at Newbury, said the number of entries for Thursday had been "phenomenal."

Speaking from the winners circle he added: "There will be a big throng of people here - three to four thousand - hopefully clapping a very popular winner.

"Tony McCoy is here riding in the first race, the champion of all champion jockeys. It would be sensational if he was to ride the winner."

A further seven fixtures will follow this year, and the meeting on 28 August will see the track officially opened by racing commentator Sir Peter O'Sullevan.

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