Sunday 26th April will be a day of history in the making on two fronts as Wetherby Racecourse stages the first of 4 flat race meetings for the first time in its 125 year history and Sue Ryder aims to achieve a world record for the Mascot Gold Cup race.
The start of flat racing at Wetherby is the culmination of many years of planning and gives the West Yorkshire racecourse the opportunity to extend their season beyond the winter months. With the excitement of the Mascot Gold Cup taking place as part of the Family Day, racegoers can expect plenty of entertainment including an animal petting farm, the National Festival Circus, inflatables, face painting etc as well as being part of history in the making.
The Mascot Gold Cup, sponsored by Foresters, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the race and as part of the milestone the fundraising team at Sue Ryder aims to break the world record for the most mascots in a race. Last year over 80 larger than life furry characters joined the charity race and Sue Ryder are currently awaiting imminent news from Guinness World Records to confirm the target they need to beat but entries have already broken the 100 milestone.
The Mascot Gold Cup has been held at Wetherby Racecourse since 2006 and has raised £130,000 for the charity and a similar figure for many other charities as Mascots can fund raise for their own chosen charities. Individuals, corporate groups, sports associations are all encouraged to join in the fun and the charity has a number of costumes that can be adopted for the day, for those who don’t own their own. Teams have come from across the UK and Northern Ireland and this year there’s even an international entry.
Funds raised help Sue Ryder care for people with cancer and other life limiting illnesses in Yorkshire at their hospices in Keighley and Headingley and their neurological centre at Holme Hall near York. The charity would love to hear from anyone who is interested in helping them reach their target and help raise funds for the organization.
Michelle Campbell “We’re really excited about this year’s event. Mascot Day is always a very competitive, hotly contested event and it would be great to create a world record on the day that we start a new chapter in Wetherby Racecourse’s history with the first of 4 new flat fixtures”.