Walking the Courses: The Biggest Charity Effort the Racing world has seen

(c) George Selwyn

On Friday 20th March 2015, people from all corners of the racing industry gathered at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse to give fundraiser and walker, Richard Farquhar, a send-off to remember for the first leg of his epic fundraising venture, Walking The Courses. From Newmarket, Richard set out on a 72 mile walk to Towcester Racecourse, where he arrived for the race meeting on Monday 23rd March.

The next time that Richard is seen at the ‘home of horse racing’ will be in April 2016, by which time he will have covered approximately 2,750 miles on foot and linked all sixty racecourses in mainland Britain, bit by bit, in what will eventually resemble an unbroken chain.

By then, Richard hopes to have hit his ambitious target of £1.4m, to have involved people from all across the UK in his challenge – including notable individuals within the racing world – and partnered with some of the biggest corporates within the racing industry. How Walking The Courses works: Each leg of Walking The Courses will end with Richard’s arrival at a racecourse on the day that there is a race meeting. Richard will complete each leg of the journey by walking a lap of the course itself, finishing at the winning post. Each racecourse to racecourse walk is staggered over thirteen months, with the last walk taking place in April 2016.

Already, Richard has attracted donations and pledges to the sum of more than £50,000: a great platform from which to chase his fundraising target of £1.4million in aid of Pancreatic Cancer UK and Racing Welfare. The former of these two beneficiaries is the only UK charity fighting pancreatic cancer – the most vicious of all 21 common cancers, with a five-year survival rate of less than 4% (the same rate as in 1975) – on all fronts: information, support, research and campaigning. Pancreatic cancer was the disease that claimed the lives of racing legends Dessie Hughes and John Hills in 2014 alone, as well as Richard’s father a couple of years previously. The latter of the two chosen charities, Racing Welfare, provides professional guidance and practical help to the unseen army of dedicated staff whose work is vital for the well-being of horse racing.

The fundraising target of £1.4million was settled upon when Richard learnt that the total investment into pancreatic cancer research in 2013 was just £700,000. This figure that appalled him, given the total lack of progress in finding a cure for this particular strain of cancer in the past forty years. Richard is determined to contribute as much to the fight against the disease as the government did in 2013. As he has chosen two beneficiaries, the fundraising target must therefore be double that: £1.4million.

Walking The Courses is officially supported by many notable individuals within the horse racing industry. These include Clare Balding, Cornelius Lysaght (BBC), Charlie Hills, Oliver Sherwood, Lord Grimthorpe (Juddmonte Farms), Roger Weatherby (Weatherbys Ltd), Henry Beeby (DBS & Goffs), Nick Luck (Channel 4), Jonjo O’Neill and Roger Waley-Cohen, to name but a few.

Walking The Courses is currently sponsored by Liontrust Asset Management Plc, Weatherbys Ltd and Subaru UK, the latter of which is providing a Subaru Outback (2015 series) as the support vehicle for the duration of the campaign. Walking The Courses is extremely grateful to these companies for their sponsorship. The campaign is also being significantly supported by Sky’s horse racing channel, At The Races, who are committed to producing coverage throughout the thirteen months of the project. Walking The Courses will continue to seek further corporate support throughout the campaign.

Walking The Courses supporter Henry Beeby, Group CEO of Goffs and DBS, comments, “Richard’s Walk is making a significant contribution to helping so many. I am full of admiration for his energy, courage and inventiveness and hope that the whole of the racing industry really gets behind him”.

To find out more about Walking The Courses and to get involved, visit www.walkingthecourses.com and to keep up to date on the journey and fundraising target, follow Walking the Courses on Twitter. We wish Richard and Minty all the best for the challenge ahead and hope they smash their target. If you would like to donate, please visit the Virgin Money Giving page here.

Pancreatic Cancer UK is the only national charity fighting pancreatic cancer on all fronts: support, information, campaigning and research. Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest of all 21 common cancers, with a five-year survival rate of less than 4% and an average survival period of just 5 months after diagnosis. These statistics have not improved one bit in over forty years. Richard lost his father, Peter, to the disease in 2012 and was inspired to embark on a fundraising challenge on the charity’s behalf when learning about the desperate lack of funding into the battle against the disease. Richard committed to the challenge upend hearing of the loss of John Hills in June 2014. Just five months later Dessie Hughes lost his life to the same illness.

Racing Welfare provides professional guidance and practical help to current and retired stud, stable and support staff, and their families, in times of need. Its work is vital to the welfare of the unseen army of dedicated staff whose work is fundamental for the wellbeing of horse racing. The charity’s team offers advice on topics ranging from accidents and injuries through to addiction and recovery support. Racing Welfare also owns and manages a portfolio of housing across the UK. To many, racing is a great day out. To an army of unsung heroes, however, it is also a lifetime of dedication and hard work. Racing Welfare supports these people.