Arena Racing Company (“ARC”) is delighted to announce that the total amount raised by The Silk Series has topped £46,000 for Cancer Research UK.
The Silk Series is a pioneering new series of races for female jockeys, worth a total of £100,000 that took place across nine Ladies Day fixtures at ARC racecourses in summer 2017.
Jockeys were awarded points, based on their finishing position, with apprentice Megan Nicholls winning the Tufnell Trophy for the top jockey after the Final at Doncaster Racecourse in September following her winning rides at both Brighton and Bath Racecourses.
The Silk Series was proud to work alongside Cancer Research UK throughout the summer, with volunteers attending every meeting and undertaking a number of fund and awareness raising activities to help beat cancer sooner.
In addition to this, 75 pence from each ticket sold to the ARC’s popular Ladies Day fixtures were donated directly to Cancer Research UK. Combined, the total amount raised was £46,000.
At the annual Racecourse Association (“RCA”) Showcase Awards, the success of the first year of The Silk Series was recognised with victory in the ‘Love of the Sport’ category. The awards took place at Newbury Racecourse and the prize was collected for ARC by the company’s Director of Partnerships, David Leyden Dunbar, and the creator of the Silk Series Hayley Plimley who is Uttoxeter Racecourse’s Head of Sales and Marketing.
ARC’s Director of Partnerships, David Leyden Dunbar commented, ‘We’re absolutely delighted to have been able to help raise so much for Cancer Research UK, and we’d like to thank all of our racegoers for their generosity in donating to the charity.
‘The Silk Series was run for the first time in 2017, with the aim of providing female jockeys in Great Britain with more opportunities to ride on popular racedays. The support and recognition it has received in year one is greatly appreciated by all of us at ARC. Industry recognition from the RCA Showcase Awards is fantastic and, combined with the fundraising, shows that The Silk Series has been as successful off the track as it has on it.’
Caro Evans, Director of Partnerships at Cancer Research UK, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to ARC and The Silk Series for raising an incredible amount of money to help us beat cancer sooner. We rely entirely on the generosity of our supporters and these ticket sales will allow us to continue our work into the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.”
Offering opportunities and celebrating the achievements of female jockeys in Britain, The Silk Series will return in summer 2018. For more information, please visit www.thesilkseries.com.
