SALISBURY Racecourse is set for a season spectacular.

Over the next five months at the Netherhampton Road track, there will be 16 race meetings.

Proceedings get under way on bank holiday weekend with Sunday's Betfred City Bowl Family Race Day.

The meeting's feature race, which is one of the oldest races staged across the UK, is a £22,000 handicap over one mile and six furlongs.

There's also top summer events listed with the traditional Ladies' Evening in July and

the Salisbury Splendour in August.

Off the track, more than £250,000 has been ploughed into maintenance improvements, including the refurbishment of the largest bar on the racecourse - The Bibury Bar.

The main ticket office near the taxi rank has also been rebuilt.

Clerk of course and executive director Jeremy Martin says he's excited about getting started.

“We very much look forward to starting racing again on Sunday and hope that it will be another good season," he told JournalSport.

"The improvement to the Bibury Bar is something that we are very pleased with, and this now amounts to £450,000 spent on the Bibury Suite in the past two-and-a-half years."

Last year's leading trainer Richard Hannon and leading jockey Pat Dobbs are both expected to return.

Former jockey supremo at Salisbury, Richard Hughes, is now a racehorse trainer based at Weathercock House in Lambourn, the famous yard once occupied by Jenny Pitman. Hughes will be regularly targeting Salisbury for his growing string of horses.

The prize fund for every race run at Salisbury is run above the minimum value as set down by the British Horseracing Authority.

There are seven races on Sunday.

Gates open at midday ahead of the first race at 1.35pm.

For more info, visit salisburyracecourse.co.uk.