The racing industry is calling on horse lovers across the north to support the annual open day at Middleham when leading stables open their doors and invite the public in raising vital money for the welfare and support of workers.
The North Yorkshire town’s annual event brought in more than 3,500 people last year for a behind the scenes look at some of the leading yards in the country.
Racing Welfare runs the event on Good Friday, April 7, which is sponsored by the Arena Racing Company. Leading trainers including Karl Burke, Charlie Johnston and James Horton have committed to opening their doors throughout the morning with fun events and races held on Middleham’s Low Moor in the afternoon.
Organisers say importantly, the event raises vital funds for Racing Welfare, who provide a wide range of advice and support services for people working in or retired from racing. Last year they supported 226 people in the Middleham area and 575 throughout the North. The charity provided a total of 3,037 instances of support across the region over the course of the year.
Racing Welfare’s chief executive, Dawn Goodfellow said: “The Arena Racing Company Middleham Open Day is one of our flagship fundraising events of the year. It’s a day that sees our charity and the people we support engage with the wider public on a large scale.
“The public’s support has never been more needed, as demand for Racing Welfare’s services continues to grow year-on-year. Without our fundraising events we simply wouldn’t be able to continue to offer our services to racing’s people on the scale that we do now. I hope to welcome lots of new and returning visitors to Middleham this Easter weekend.”
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Sam Cone, head of communications for the event sponsor, said: “At ARC we recognise the importance of Racing Welfare’s services to those working in the horseracing and breeding industry, and our ongoing sponsorship of the Middleham Open Day reflects this. The event is an important date in the calendar and an excellent opportunity for racing fans to gain an insight into what goes on day-to-day at the region’s racing stables. We hope that anyone local with an interest in racing supports the event and wish all visitors and participants an enjoyable day.”
The list of trainers committed to opening so far is: Ben Haslam; Charlie Johnston; Foulrice Park Racing; James Horton; Jedd O’Keeffe; Karl Burke; Micky Hammond and Neil Mechie.
Yards will be opening from 9.30am to 1pm, when members of the public will be invited in to look round the stables and meet the horses and staff. A host of activities will follow on Middleham’s Low Moor including the inter-yard team challenge and the Aiskew Equine and Pet Supplies Dog Show. For tickets go to www.middlehamopenday.co.uk.
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