BURNS Pet Nutrition – headquartered just four miles from Ffos Las – is to be the new sponsor of the racecourse’s principal horse race of the year.

The Burns Pet Nutrition Welsh Champion Hurdle will be run at Britain’s newest racecourse on Saturday, February 1.

The £50,000 race over two and a half miles is a brilliantly competitive event which last year was won by Medinas which went on to glory at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Welsh Champion Hurdle, which was won by Ffos Las chairman Dai Walters’s star horse Oscar Whisky in its first year in 2011, became a limited handicap race last year to increase its competitiveness. Prize-money was also raised by 16% to encourage racehorse owners and trainers to run their horses.

The Carmarthenshire racecourse revived the Welsh Champion Hurdle in 2011. Until the race was brought back by Ffos Las, it had been run until the spring of 2002 at Chepstow Racecourse. Traditionally held in April, the race began to suffer competition from Aintree and Punchestown Racecourses and sometimes attracted only a small field of runners.

The Burns Pet Nutrition Welsh Champion Hurdle is covered on terrestrial television by Channel 4.

The business is also sponsoring the £30,000 West Wales National which is run on the same day. The three-and-a-half mile steeple chase could see the first appearance by Mountainous since his victory in the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow Racecourse at the end of last year. The horse, trained in Herefordshire by Richard Lee, is also owned by Dai Walters.

With free admission for accompanied under 18s, Ffos Las offers a very affordable family day out. On-the-day admission is £16 for over 18s (advance admission – more than 48 hours before – is £14). Premier Inclusive tickets, offering admission, welcome drink, carvery roll or vegetarian option and a race programme, are available in advance for £24.

The first race time is 1.30pm, with gates opening two hours before.

Further information about racing at Ffos Las can be found at www.ffoslasracecourse.com or by calling the racecourse on 01554 811092.