This year Lord Hesketh has gone further than the usual box of chocolates or bunch of flowers for those living near his ancestral home of Easton Neston in Northamptonshire. He has pushed the boat out to lay on the first ever Boxing Day meeting at 124-year-old Towcester racecourse which forms part of his parkland estate.

As with all presents, the buyer has been reluctant to reveal how much he paid for the fixture.

But it needed lengthy negotiations to settle the purchase of a card from Newton Abbot, where racing was abandoned on each of the last five Boxing Days, and the price tag was reported to have been as high as £450,000.

And not all the neighbours have been grateful.

Huntingdon, 46 miles away, also race on December 26 and Towcester's new card breaks - just - the British Horseracing Board's guidelines that tracks less than 50 miles apart should not stage meetings on the same day.

But more discussions saw the rival courses "come to an agreement" and led the Cambridgeshire venue to withdraw their objection.

Now the locals can look forward to another sporting highlight, at a track hitherto best known for its proximity to the Silverstone motor racing circuit - home of the British Grand Prix.

"This is our first Boxing Day and we are testing the water and to some extent trying to invent a tradition," admitted racecourse manager Paul Robinson.

"But we have plans to develop the meeting - that is Lord Hesketh's intention - and with Milton Keynes and Northampton just ten to 12 miles away there is definite potential.

"Obviously it is a prime day for family entertainment and we will put on a lot of entertainments for children and families. We are expecting a crowd of 4,500 to 6,000, depending on the weather."

The weather could be crucial, at a venue whose most recent meeting last week was abandoned due to heavy rain.