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30 Jul 2024
National Racehorse Week returns for the fourth consecutive year on 7-15th September with 132 venues set to open their doors over the course of the event.
More than 4,000 places have been snapped up in the first few days, showing the event’s growing popularity.
National Racehorse Week’s headline funders are the Racing Foundation (with support from the Racing Post and Godolphin) and the Horserace Betting Levy Board with additional financial supporters including the Jockey Club, ARC, the Large Independent Racecourse Group, the Japan Racing Association, and the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust.
Originally the brainchild of trainer Richard Phillips, 91 yards have signed up to participate this year including Nicky Henderson, Charlie & Mark Johnston, Kim Bailey and David Pipe.
In addition to training yards, nine studs and ten retraining centres will welcome visitors helping to showcase the full life of horses bred for racing.
New participants for 2024 include Shadwell and the National Stud plus Godolphin’s Lifetime Care rehoming centre.
Since its inception in 2021, and including this year, National Racehorse Week has created over 48,000 free places for people to experience the lives of racehorses, get closer to the Thoroughbred, and meet the people who dedicate their lives to their care and welfare.
Gabi Whitfield, Head of Welfare Communications, Great British Racing commented: “There is no other top-tier sport that opens its doors for free to the public the way racing does with National Racehorse Week.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for people to get close, at scale, to the Thoroughbred.
“And we see, first-hand, the positive impact this has on people’s opinion of welfare in racing.
“Seeing is believing.
“Coupled with the ongoing work of the sport’s Horse Welfare Board and the recently-launched welfare campaign HorsePWR, British racing continues to take big strides forward in building trust and engagement with the public.”
The Racing Foundation will support the event for a fourth year by supporting the community engagement activities that form part of NRW.
To date this work has seen National Racehorse Week connect with an additional 4,000 people outside of the public open days.
The annual event gives racing the opportunity to get closer to the community and people who might never have even seen a horse in real life.
Over the week, racehorses will be taken out to schools, hospitals, charities, and community groups as well as bespoke visits organised at training centres.
And this year the ambition is to deliver 60 community events adding an extra 3,500 people to this total.
Tansy Challis Chief Executive at the Racing Foundation, the event’s headline partner, commented: “The Racing Foundation has funded National Racehorse Week since its inception and is delighted to once again be funding the event for a third year with support from the Racing Post and Godolphin.
“It demonstrates a true collaborative effort from across the industry to showcase the welfare of racehorses.
“By funding the community outreach and engagement element of the event, we are able to connect those who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience the magic of the racehorse with our sport, many for the first time.
“We look forward to schools, charities, urban equestrian centres and community groups getting involved in 2024 to celebrate National Racehorse Week and share the wonderful experiences our industry has to offer to the public.”
Research conducted after last year’s event showed the impact the experience has on attendees with 92% of people who were new to racing saying their opinion had been positively changed about the welfare of horses, and 94% of all attendees saying they had a positive impression of racing because of their visit.
Find out more and book your place here: nationalracehorseweek.uk
Watch last year’s National Racehorse Week community outreach video here:
