FOUNDATION VOLUNTEERS ON COURSE WITH BIG CROWD AT YORK RACES
York Racecourse promises a huge day of activities on Friday (23rd August) as part of the Sky Bet Ebor Festival, and the Matt Hampson Foundation will be in the middle of the action.
Staff and volunteers from the Foundation which supports young people following life-changing injury in sport will be hosting a collection on the course during one of its biggest days of the year.
Links with horseracing have been developed through jockey Graham Lee following his injury in a fall last year. Graham has become a regular visitor to the Foundation’s Get Busy Living Centre in Leicestershire while also inspiring support at the Go Racing In Yorkshire Festival in July and now at York’s major August meeting.
Graham is a former Grand National-winning jockey who also raced on the flat and counts the Nunthorpe Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting during 2018 among his triumphs.
The Friday programme this year includes new events for racegoers called ‘Under Jockeys Orders’ celebrating the skills of leading riders as a collaboration between York Racecourse, the Professional Jockeys Association and Great British Racing.
Activities on Coolmore Nunthorpe Day include:
- Jockeys will wear their surnames on their kit to aid identification.
- Pre-recorded Q&A session with top jockeys Hollie Doyle, Jo Mason, Jason Hart and Ryan Moore by children from Clifton Green Primary School in York.
- Relive past Coolmore Nunthorpe winners with commentary by winning jockeys Luke Morris, Jason Hart and Paul Mulrennan.
- Autograph sessions with riders including champion jockeys Ryan Moore and Oisin Murphy plus current champion William Buick.
- A pop-up Jockey Gym showcasing the unique strengths of a professional jockey, with riders on hand to demonstrate how they stay at peak fitness.
- A look behind the scenes at the jockeys’ canteen to see how riders stay energised without adding on the pounds.
- Former jockeys taking on raceday roles including official starter.
- Demonstrations from jockeys on how to ride a racehorse alongside a virtual reality experience showing what it’s like to gallop down the course.
- Classic-winning jockeys Martin Dwyer and Paul Hanagan on the podium before racing to provide their best bets of the day.
- Collection by the Matt Hampson Foundation on behalf of Graham Lee after his life-changing fall when riding at Newcastle.
