MORE THAN 1,000 RACING FANS FLOCK TO MALTON FOR ANNUAL OPEN DAY
More than 1,000 horseracing fans flocked to the historic racing town of Malton on Sunday morning (10th September) to experience all that goes on behind-the-scenes at a racing stable. 11 racehorse trainers, including Richard Fahey, John Quinn and Tim Easterby, opened their yards for the ARC Malton Open Day, which raised over £11,000 for the sport’s human welfare charity, Racing Welfare.
The star of the day was undoubtedly Julie Camacho’s dual Group 1-winner, Shaquille, who, despite performing unexpectedly below par at Haydock the day before, attracted a constant stream of visitors throughout the morning. Speaking on the day, Julie said: “We’ve been very busy. It’s humbling to see how many people want to come and look around. It’s nice that people can come and see [the horses] in their own environment and see what they’re doing. [Shaquille] has done us proud… we all enjoy [Malton Open Day], it’s a good day.”
A change in the event’s format this year meant that visitors no longer needed to wait for shuttle buses and could simply drive to each of the yards during the morning. From midday yards closed to the public and visitors had the option to continue their afternoon at York Racecourse’s YorkMix Family Sunday Raceday, with discounted entry for Malton Open Day ticketholders.
Sixteen horses from across the Malton Open Day stables were declared to run at York Racecourse during that afternoon, with Richard Fahey’s Tropical Island and Roger Fell and Sean Murray’s Anjo Bonita duly delivering with wins in their respective races.
As well as cheering on the Malton-trained runners, visitors to the races enjoyed a day packed full of family entertainment, including pony racing, appearances from popular children’s character, Bluey, face painting and bouncy castles, plus the opportunity to meet York Racecourse’s Equine Ambassador, former dual Group 1-winning racehorse, Goldream (now known as Remy).
Adam Ferguson, Racing Welfare’s Head of Community Engagement, said: “We are thrilled with how the Malton Open Day has gone this year, and were so pleased to see so many people enjoying getting up close to our equine superstars. Huge thanks must go to all the trainers and their staff for being so accommodating, as well as to York Racecourse for offering discounted entry to their family fixture during the afternoon. It was wonderful to see a couple of winners from Malton, and we hope that the added layer to the event this year helped create that full-circle experience, following horses from the stable to the racetrack.
“Thank you to ARC for their ongoing sponsorship of this event, which has raised an incredible £11,000 for Racing Welfare this year. These funds are vital for our charity and will go towards our wellbeing support services for all of racing’s people.”
