THIS year’s Newmarket Nights has attracted huge crowds with attendances topping 100,000.

News of the large numbers flocking to the course for the series of race nights and concerts was revealed yesterday and is being hailed as a massive benefit to the local economy and the horse racing industry.

Jessie J, who was one of the top acts of Sunday’s closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, will be the star on show this coming Friday, a week after Sir Tom Jones thrilled 20,000 who descended on the July Course.

Now about to complete a 26th season, Adnams Newmarket Nights have become a popular fixture in the sport and music calendar.

The racecourse’s managing director Amy Starkey hailed the success of the concerts – which are held on Friday evenings during the summer – as good not only for the horseracing industry, but also for the economy of East Anglia in general.

“Madness and Sir Tom Jones have attracted enormous crowds, as will Jessie J’s concert on Friday which was sold out soon after tickets went on sale earlier in the year,” she said. “As part of Jockey Club Racecourses, Newmarket Racecourses re-invests its income back into horseracing for the benefit of the sport.

“But it is not just our industry that benefits from the success of the Adnams Newmarket Nights.

“People come from far and wide to enjoy the concerts, bringing money into the town of Newmarket and the surrounding area. We are now keen to develop further the attraction of our concerts that follow Saturday afternoon racing – our two ‘Summer Saturdays Live’.

“We had a very healthy crowd for the appearance by McFly in June and we are now looking forward to the performance by Steps on Saturday, August 25.”