General admission tickets for the first new turf racecourse to open in Britain for more than 80 years will go on sale from Sunday 1 March.

With the opening night on Thursday 18 June at Ffos Las Racecourse in Carmarthenshire set to be extremely popular, business is expected to be brisk next month.

Admission for adults will cost between £15 and £17 for each fixture, of which there are eight between June and December. Advance bookings receive a £1 discount.More details about the new racecourse - which will stage both Flat and National Hunt racing - can be found on its website (www.ffoslasracecourse.com).

Tickets for individual fixtures, as well as annual badges, can be bought online or by calling 01554 811092/389. With the telephone lines expected to be busy, the quickest way to purchase tickets will be online.

The racecourse is expecting a crowd of more than 5,000 people on the opening night when Fat Barry's Soul Band will be playing after racing finishes.

Admission gates will be open from 1pm on Thursday 18 June to allow visitors as much time as possible to arrive at and look around the new racecourse. It is Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot and all the races from there will be shown on a big screen and on televisions in the bars.

Jon Williams, General Manager of Ffos Las Racecourse, said: "We've already sold a lot of annual badges since they first went on sale in January and we're anticipating a lot of interest in individual tickets - especially for the opening night. The telephones have been red hot, such is the interest in
Britain's first new turf racecourse since the 1920s."

Annual badges guarantee admission to all eight fixtures at Ffos Las. They cost £100 - a saving of more than 25% on regular admission - and are valid for the official 'Grand Opening' of the racecourse on Friday 28 August too.

Construction remains on schedule. Building work on the stables is nearing completion, and the grandstand, which will include a 150-seat restaurant and eight hospitality boxes, is well under way.

Created on the site of a 600-acre former open cast mine by the Walters Group of civil engineers, Ffos Las in the heart of Carmarthenshire lies between Llanelli and Carmarthen.2009 fixtures:

Thursday evening 18 June (jumps)
Tuesday 21 July (flat)
Friday 28 August (jumps)
Sunday 13 September (flat)
Sunday 11 October (jumps)
Sunday 8 November (jumps)
Monday 23 November (jumps)
Monday 21 December (jumps)