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Tag: stable staff

Harriet Bethell steals the show at the Vertem Northern Racing Awards

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Friday evening (26th November) saw the Northern racing community come together at the Vertem Northern Racing Awards held at Newcastle racecourse.

The glittering black-tie event celebrated many standout performances from the last 12 months but it was, without doubt, Harriet Bethell who stole the show as she took home the Magic Moment award. Having suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to a fall on the gallops at her East Yorkshire yard, Harriet has endured months of therapy which has included having to learn to walk again. The culmination of a gruelling regime saw her walk round Pontefract racecourse earlier this year and in the process raise nearly £60,000 for the Injured Jockeys Fund. Harriet rightly received a standing ovation on the night in recognition of her extraordinary efforts.

Paddy Trainor was the proud winner of the Our People Award on the night, and somewhat lost for words. The award is a racing industry recognition award and there was no one more deserving than Paddy who has dedicated his working life to the sport. He is also a great supporter of Racing Welfare and it was wonderful to see his achievements recognised.

Racing staff box clever for Racing Welfare

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A stellar cast of racing staff hailing from the north went toe-to-toe on 20 November at York racecourse for the William Hill Racing Staff Boxing night, providing a superb evening of entertainment with the aim of raising vital funds for organisers Racing Welfare.

Each competitor undertook eight weeks of intensive training delivered by Ultra White Collar Boxing, culminating in ten fiercely competitive fights with many competitors’ friends, family, employers and colleagues attending to show their support.

Racing Welfare Receives £150,000 Cash Boost Following Fitzdares Charity Raceday at Wincanton

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Officials at Racing Welfare have been left overwhelmed after securing their biggest total from a single fundraising event after collecting more than £150,000 from a charity race day staged at Wincanton on Sunday 24th October. 

The six-figure total was collected through a variety of methods including race sponsorship, hospitality packages, bucket collections, plus both a live and silent auction at the Somerset track’s Fitzdares Racing Welfare Charity Raceday. 

Funds were also raised from a 12-runner charity race featuring stable staff including former Ipswich Town, Coventry City, Brentford and Reading midfielder Jay Tabb, who now works for Philip Hobbs. 

The mile and a quarter contest was won by Sarah West and Celestial Force, who led home a one-two for champion trainer Paul Nicholls when getting the better of her colleague at the Ditcheat yard, Hannah Roche, and Wise Glory by a nose. You can watch the race back here.

More than £40,000 was raised from the silent auction which saw 82 lots up for grabs, including a five-night stay at a country house in South Africa. The live auction made £35,000, the top lot being a week at Umndeni Lodge, South African Riding Safari which made £14,000.

 

Epsom Open Day returns to showcase Surrey’s historic racing centre

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This year’s Epsom Open Day will see seven racing yards within this historic training centre throw their gates open to the public on Sunday 12th September, to tie in with Epsom Heritage Week and the launch of the first-ever National Racehorse Week (12-19 September).

Organised by Racing Welfare and sponsored by The Jockey Club, Epsom Open Day will give racing fans and locals the opportunity to see behind-the-scenes of some of the top racing yards of Epsom, and meet some of their superhero horses, trainers and stable staff. Stable tours will take place between 9am and 1pm, with a bus service rotating on stops every 15 minutes between the participating yards. There will also be an opportunity to see some of the horses being worked on the iconic Epsom gallops, alongside sports broadcaster Rishi Persad who has just returned home having covered the equestrian sport at the Tokyo Olympics.

Trainers taking part in this year’s event include:

Simon Dow                  Lee Carter                    Jim Boyle                     Mark Pattinson

Roger Ingram               Pat Phelan                   Michael Attwater 

Trainer Simon Dow of Clear Height Stables said; 

Stable staff jockeys take centre stage at Thirsk Racecourse

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Tomorrow, Friday 30th August, will see this year’s renewal of the Creditas Taking Care of Business Stable Staff Stakes at Thirsk Racecourse.  Run over a mile on the flat, the race will feature 12 riders from yards located across England and Scotland, all of whom are raising money for Racing Welfare.

Stable staff jockeys shine on Betfair Friday

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Representing the highlight of Racing Staff Week, yesterday, Friday 5th July, saw two races exclusively for stable staff held at Doncaster and Newton Abbot respectively.  The events marked the penultimate day of Racing Staff Week, which seeks to celebrate all of racing’s workforce, running from 29th June to 6th July. 

Maria’s Great South Run Challenge

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Racing Welfare beneficiary Maria Doe will be taking on the 10 mile Great South Run this Sunday, 15 months after suffering a serious spinal injury.

Maria, who has worked for leading trainer Sir Michael Stoute for 19 years, was injured last year when the horse she was riding slipped and fell on top of her.  She underwent surgery to stabilise her crushed vertebrae and had two metal rods inserted down side of her spine.

Malton Festival of Racing draws in crowds to go behind-the-scenes of Ryedale’s horseracing industry

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Sunday 16th September saw over 2000 visitors flocking to the North Yorkshire town of Malton to visit the yards of 12 trainers open to the public on the day, followed by a programme of family friendly events at Highfield Gallops in the afternoon.

Racing fans were able to meet stars of both Flat and National Hunt codes on the day, including this year’s Gimcrack winner Sands of Mali, the bet365 Bunbury Cup victor Burnt Sugar, 2016 Scottish Sprint Cup winner Hoof it and Ribchester, victorious last year’s Prix Du Moulin.  Guests to Mark Campion’s yard had the opportunity to enter his competition to name a new recruit to the team of horses running for the Mark Campion Racing Club, the winner of which will be given one year’s free membership to the club.

Racing Welfare’s Chief Executive Dawn Goodfellow said

Epsom Open Day set to showcase historic training centre

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This year’s Epsom Open Day will see the training yards within this historic training centre throw their gates open to the public on Bank Holiday Monday 27th August 2018, followed by an afternoon of family friendly racing at the glorious Epsom Downs Racecourse.