The new £21m Ffos Las Racecourse near Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, which is the first turf horse racecourse to be built in Britain since the 1920s, is to be officially opened on 28 August.

Located on the site of a former 650-acre (263-hectare) open cast mine near the village of Trimsaran, the 1.5-mile (2.4km) left-handed circuit was built by Aberdare-based civil engineers, the Walters Group and is managed by racecourse group, Northern Racing. Facilities at Ffos Las Racecourse, which hosted its first meeting on 18 June, includes a grandstand with 150-seat restaurant and eight hospitality boxes, a weighing room and a permanent media room.

It is expected that the venue will cater for up to 16 horse racing meetings each year both on the flat and over jumps, while eight fixtures have been scheduled for between June and December 2009. It is also anticipated that the course will attract a number of Irish horse trainers due to its proximity to west Wales' ferry links with Ireland. Ffos Las' general manager, Jon Williams, said: "Everyone at the racecourse has been thrilled by the public's reaction to the first two racing days at Ffos Las."