Latest news with #EasterSaturday
Scotsman
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Prize money up and record attendances as Musselburgh Racecourse bucks trend
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now Increased prize money, record attendances at its New Year's Day and Edinburgh Cup meetings, and a boost in hospitality guests underlined a successful 2024 for Musselburgh Racecourse. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... An annual report on the East Lothian track's performance showed prize money at the East Lothian course totalled £2,429,600 - up by 6.3% on the previous year - and an 14.6% increase on prize money in 2022. Musselburgh also attracted more hospitality guests - 3,938 last year compared to 3,587 in 2023 - and Annual Membership grew by 16% from 263 in 2023 to 306 in 2024. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The racecourse would have recorded an increase in total attendance for the year if it had not been forced to abandon its hugely popular Easter Saturday fixture due to weather and which usually attracts a 5,000 strong crowd. Hospitality guest numbers are up at Musselburgh Racecourse With two less meetings run in 2024 (25) compared to 2023 (27), total attendance was a healthy 58,744, down from 60,294 in 2023, but average attendance at meetings run was up from 2,319 to 2,448. Across its premium race days, Musselburgh enjoyed significant crowd increases with a 11.5% jump and an extra 653 racegoers on New Year's Day (6,289 compared to 5,636 in 2023) and almost a 20% boost at the Edinburgh Cup fixture (5,966 compared to 5,048 in 2023). Musselburgh's annual Friday Night at the Races fixture in early August enjoyed it's largest crowd to date of 4,375, while Ladies Day was an 8,000 capacity sell-out - an increase of almost 600 on the previous year - and the 20th year in succession that Ladies Day has sold out. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A new Oktoberfest themed race day in September was a huge hit with racegoers and compared to the 2023 meeting held on the same date there as a 1,600 bump in attendance. Ladies Day at Musselburgh Racecourse sold out for the 20th successive year. Aisling Johnston, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Musselburgh Racecourse, said: 'The figures show a strong performance with significant increases in attendance at our key meetings and it could have been even better if we had not lost our Easter Saturday meeting, which was very disappointing. 'Our ground staff worked exceptionally hard in 2024, often in adverse conditions, to keep the track and facilities in tip-top condition, and the commercial team achieved outstanding results by increasing like-for-like attendances, which bucked the national trend. 'With family budgets under pressure and lots of competing sporting and entertainment options, we are constantly upping our game to ensure that Musselburgh Racecourse remains a compelling offering for those looking for an exciting and enjoyable day, afternoon or evening out.'
Scotsman
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Prize money up and record attendances as Musselburgh Racecourse bucks trend
Increased prize money, record attendances at its New Year's Day and Edinburgh Cup meetings, and a boost in hospitality guests underlined a successful 2024 for Musselburgh Racecourse. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... An annual report on the East Lothian track's performance showed prize money at the East Lothian course totalled £2,429,600 - up by 6.3% on the previous year - and an 14.6% increase on prize money in 2022. Musselburgh also attracted more hospitality guests - 3,938 last year compared to 3,587 in 2023 - and Annual Membership grew by 16% from 263 in 2023 to 306 in 2024. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The racecourse would have recorded an increase in total attendance for the year if it had not been forced to abandon its hugely popular Easter Saturday fixture due to weather and which usually attracts a 5,000 strong crowd. Hospitality guest numbers increased at Musselburgh Racecourse With two less meetings run in 2024 (25) compared to 2023 (27), total attendance was a healthy 58,744, down from 60,294 in 2023, but average attendance at meetings run was up from 2,319 to 2,448. Across its premium race days, Musselburgh enjoyed significant crowd increases with a 11.5% jump and an extra 653 racegoers on New Year's Day (6,289 compared to 5,636 in 2023) and almost a 20% boost at the Edinburgh Cup fixture (5,966 compared to 5,048 in 2023). Musselburgh's annual Friday Night at the Races fixture in early August enjoyed it's largest crowd to date of 4,375, while Ladies Day was an 8,000 capacity sell-out - an increase of almost 600 on the previous year - and the 20th year in succession that Ladies Day has sold out. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A new Oktoberfest themed race day in September was a huge hit with racegoers and compared to the 2023 meeting held on the same date there as a 1,600 bump in attendance. The Edinburgh Cup meeting attendance up by 20 per cent at Musselburgh Racecourse Aisling Johnston, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Musselburgh Racecourse, said: 'The figures show a strong performance with significant increases in attendance at our key meetings and it could have been even better if we had not lost our Easter Saturday meeting, which was very disappointing. 'Our ground staff worked exceptionally hard in 2024, often in adverse conditions, to keep the track and facilities in tip-top condition, and the commercial team achieved outstanding results by increasing like-for-like attendances, which bucked the national trend.
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Jailed migrants create striking distress signal in bid to stop Trump sending them to El Salvador mega-prison
Migrants holed up in a Texas immigration detention center have used their bodies to send a distress signal to the outside world. The group of 31 men in the yard spotted a drone in the sky being operated by Reuters and worked together to form a message with their bodies: SOS. Detainees at the Bluebonnet immigrant detention center in the small city of Anson, Texas, were seen in the dirt yard at the facility. Some wore red jumpsuits designating them as 'high risk', while others play games of soccer in the dirt or walk laps in small groups. Relatives of detainees claim the men say they're not being given much food and are taking 'shifts' to sleep in order to protect themselves. It comes less than two weeks after dozens of Venezuelan detainees at the center were handed notices which accused them of being members of feared gang Tren de Aragua. As such, they were subject to deportation under a wartime law which the Trump administration invoked earlier this year to justify sending 238 suspected gang members to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador. El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele has suggested prisoners 'never leave' and categorizes inmates as terrorists. The families of at least seven of the detainees maintain they were not gang members and that they refused to sign the document. In spite of their protests, these men were rounded up and loaded onto a bus on Good Friday bound for nearby Abilene Regional Airport, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and family members. Extraordinary footage captured a convoy en route to the airport before the bus was turned around and sent back to the detention center amid an intense court battle about the legality of deportations. That night, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked their deportations. Dissenting Justice Samuel Alito cited a government lawyer in another case in which the lawyer explicitly stated no deportations were taking place on Good Friday or Easter Saturday. Several courts are weighing the legality of Trump's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which had only been invoked three times in history prior to this. But the group of Venezuelans at Bluebonnet detention center are still at risk of being sent to CECOT, and live in fear that they'll be deported with a moment's notice. The wife of one of the detainees, 24-year-old Diover Millan, said the men in Millan's dorm take shifts staying awake while the others sleep. This will give them an extra moment if immigration officers do arrive to deport them to get word out to their families. One day last week, Millan told her the men in the dorm refused to go out into the yard because they were worried they would be put on another bus and sent to El Salvador. 'He is desperate,' Millan's wife said. 'He told me that when he walked out onto the field, he sat down and looked at the sky and asked God to get him out of there soon.' Millan was among the men in the yard captured by Reuters' drone. He arrived in Bluebonnet in mid-April from a separate detention facility in Georgia, where he'd been since he was picked up on March 12. According to Reuters, he does not have a criminal record, and had been working a steady job in construction. The Department of Homeland Security claim he is a 'documented' member of Tren de Aragua, which he and his loved ones dispute. Another Venezuelan, Jeferson Escalona, 19, was photographed playing soccer in the yard at the facility. The DHS also allege he is a 'self-admitted' member of the feared gang. Escalona said he had no ties to Tren de Aragua or any gang. He was a police officer in Venezuela, he said. When they detained him, US authorities took his phone and he suspects they saw photos of him making hand gestures that he said were common in Venezuela. Escalona said that he has asked to return voluntarily to Venezuela but was denied. 'They're making false accusations about me,' he said. 'I don't belong to any gang. I fear for my life here. I want to go to Venezuela.' After his arrest in January 2025 for evading arrest in a vehicle, he was sent to Guantanamo Bay, but he returned to the US and was sent to Bluebonnet in February. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have come to the United States over the past few years, fleeing economic collapse and what critics call an authoritarian crackdown under President Nicolas Maduro. Under the administration of former President Joe Biden, many were given temporary humanitarian protections that the Trump administration is trying to revoke. On April 26, an immigration official visited some of the men in their dorms to answer questions they had about the process. An audio of the meeting was shared with Reuters and captured the men frantically asking what would happen to them and why the government wanted to send them to El Salvador - a place most have never even visited. They also asked what would happen to their scheduled immigration hearings and pending court dates if they were successfully removed from the country. Many, like Millan, have pending asylum cases. He was due in court for a hearing on May 1. The official explained that the US had tried to remove them under the Alien Enemies Act, which was a separate process from their scheduled immigration court hearings. 'If he gets removed under the Alien Enemies Act, then that court date doesn't exist, he'll never have that court date,' the official said in English to someone who was translating. Several of the men wanted to know how it was possible for them to be classified as 'alien enemies' when they were not gang members and had committed no crime. 'If I don't have a criminal record in the three countries in which I have lived in, how are they going to send me to El Salvador?' one of the men in the recording asked. The official said he was not involved in the intelligence gathering.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
The Southeastern trains cancelled or replaced by buses this Easter weekend
Several Southeastern trains will be cancelled, diverted, or replaced by buses this Easter weekend. The changes are due to engineering work or seasonal changes. These will affect trains from Good Friday to Easter Monday (April 17 to April 21). We have outlined and simplified the details so you can plan your journey this Easter weekend. Good Friday to Easter Monday (April 18 to April 21): Engineering work is taking place between Canterbury West and Minster, closing all lines. Trains between London Charing Cross and Ramsgate via Ashford International will only run between London Charing Cross and Canterbury West. Trains between London St Pancras International and Margate via Canterbury West will only run between London St Pancras International and Canterbury West. Trains between London St Pancras International and Ramsgate via Dover Priory are not affected and will stop additionally at Thanet Parkway. On Sunday, these trains will be extended to run to and from Margate, calling additionally at Broadstairs. Good Friday and Easter Saturday (April 18 and April 19): Engineering work is taking place between Grove Park and Bromley North, closing all lines. As a result, replacement buses will run between Grove Park and Bromley North, calling at Sundridge Park. Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (April 20 and April 21): Engineering work is taking place at Lewisham, closing all lines. On Sunday, trains between London Victoria and Dartford will not run. Services between London Cannon Street and Slade Green via Bexleyheath will be diverted to run via Sidcup and will not stop at Lewisham. On Monday, trains between London Victoria and Gravesend, and between London Charing Cross and Gravesend via Bexleyheath will not run. Services between London Cannon Street and Slade Green via Bexleyheath will be diverted to run via Sidcup and will not stop at Lewisham Also on Monday, trains between London Cannon Street and Dartford via Lewisham and Woolwich Arsenal will be diverted between London Bridge and Charlton to run via Greenwich. Trains between London Charing Cross and Hayes will not stop at Lewisham. Trains between London Charing Cross and Dartford via Sidcup will not stop at Lewisham. Trains between London Charing Cross and Sevenoaks will not call at Lewisham. Replacement buses will run between New Cross and Dartford via Bexleyheath calling at all stations.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
London weather: Easter weekend washout warning as long dry spell nears an end
Londoners are facing a weekend washout with rain on Good Friday set to break a long spell of dry weather. According to BBC Weather, the capital will see light rain and a gentle breeze for most of the day on Friday with temperatures dropping to 16C. It follows a period of extended sunshine and hot weather in London, with the mercury reaching 19C on Saturday. The prolonged hot spell forced the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to issue a statement urging the public not to use barbecues due to a heightened risk of wildfires. But the good weather will return in time for the Easter Weekend, with sunshine and temperatures of 16C forecast for Saturday and Sunday. The Met Office says there is a 50 per cent chance of rain on Friday afternoon, with temperatures likely to hover between 15 and 17C. Both Saturday and Sunday will be overcast, with some sunny intervals in the afternoon. Needing to know what the weather has in store for the lead up to the Easter weekend 🌦️🌞❓Check out the forecast for the week ahead 👇 — Met Office (@metoffice) April 13, 2025 Historically low rainfall saw England have its sixth driest March and Wales have its fourth driest since records began in 1836, according to the Met Office. Drivers have been warned over long queues over Easter, with 19.1 million people expected to hit the road on Good Friday alone in expectation of sunny weather. The AA anticipated 19.1 million people will drive on Good Friday, 18.5 million on Easter Saturday and 18.2 million on each of Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. Tourism authority VisitEngland said around 10.6 million British adults are planning to take a holiday in the UK over the bank holiday period. That is expected to provide an estimated £3.9 billion boost to the economy. The hottest day of the year so far in the UK was on April 4 with a high of 23.7C in Otterbourne, Hampshire.
