Annual celebration of Racing Staff returns with a ‘thank you’ message at its heart

Racing Staff Week: Saturday 25 June – Friday 1 July 2022.

• Racing Welfare’s initiative, supported by Betfair, shines a light on the horseracing industry’s estimated 20,000-strong workforce.
• A competition to judge the industry’s best ‘Thank You’ video will offer a prize of £500 in vouchers.
• Stable staff charity races will be taking place on Friday 1 July at Doncaster and Newton Abbot.
• Wellbeing-focused activities for all racing staff will be running up and down the country.

The sixth annual Racing Staff Week launches on Saturday 25 June. The initiative, run by charity Racing Welfare and generously supported by Betfair, recognises the hard work and contribution of the industry’s entire workforce, from stud and stable staff to breeders, racecourse staff and administrators and everything in between who all make our great sport possible.

Central to this messaging is a competition encouraging industry staff to nominate a colleague that goes above and beyond in their role within the horseracing or Thoroughbred breeding industries. The videos will be judged by the Betfair podcast panel comprising Kevin Blake, Hugh Cahill, Tony Calvin and Vanessa Ryle, with the winning nominator and nominee each receiving a £250 One4all shopping voucher.

The feature events of the week are the charity races taking place on Friday 1 July. The Betfair Clock Tower Cup and the Betfair Racing Staff Week Cup will be run at Doncaster and Newton Abbot respectively, with each of the races being contested by 12 members of stable staff and raising funds for Racing Welfare.

In addition to the charity races, those working in the industry are encouraged to consider their own wellbeing, as well as that of their colleagues, for the duration of the week. There are various wellbeing-related activities taking place up and down the country, as well as Racing Welfare representatives on course at many of the meetings taking place during the week.

Industry organisations are already getting behind Racing Staff Week with their own activities to thank and celebrate their teams.  Examples include a Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association-backed initiative to contribute £100 towards several stud staff summer parties and BBQs and a Jockey Club Racecourses sports day for their Southwest racecourse colleagues during the week.

Find out more about the ‘Thank You’ competition and about the activities at www.racingstaffweek.com/activities and follow the #RacingStaffWeek and #WeAreRacing hashtags on social media for updates.

Dawn Goodfellow, Racing Welfare Chief Executive, said; “Our sport relies on the hard work and dedication of so many individuals across a myriad of roles, and it is for this reason that Racing Staff Week continues to be central to Racing Welfare’s calendar. Thank you to Betfair for their continued generosity in support of this important initiative.  I look forward to seeing the industry come together during the week to celebrate and thank their teams and colleagues who keep our brilliant sport running.”

Harry Phillips, Head UK&I Brand Marketing at Betfair said: “It is a pleasure to continue our longstanding support Racing Staff Week and Racing Welfare, and an honour to play a part in shining a light on those working in all areas across the industry. We are looking forward to hearing the stories of those individuals who go above and beyond in their roles and are excited to see what the sixth year of this initiative will bring.”

You can find out more about Racing Staff Week on the website here: www.racingstaffweek.com