The 2017 Horses for Causes Charity Race Day held at Kenilworth Racecourse on 11th February achieved several impressive milestones.
Having a party! Some of the guests pose for photographer Gavin Comer
The 400 guests spent the afternoon in the Peninsula and Kenilworth Rooms celebrating an early Valentine’s Day, joining in the wine and laughter, and betting on the afternoon’s racing which, as it turns out, was far trickier than the pundits expected.
The generosity of the Western Cape breeders made it possible to put together an impressive stallion service catalogue, featuring Oratorio, Duke Of Marmalade, Ideal World, Coup de Grace, Pathfork, Vercingetorix, Elusive Fort, Twice Over, What a Winter, Pomodoro, Go Deputy and Captain of All.
Organiser Andre Oosthuizen asked that a special mention be made of the donors of the stallion services, including Pippa Mickleburgh, Gaynor Rupert, Jessica Slack, Dr Andreas Jacobs, Peter De Beyer, Bryn Ressel , Chris Van Niekerk, John Freeman, Pieter Graaf, John Koster and Grant Knowles.
World Sports Betting contributed generously to the afternoon by taking up the naming rights to one of the races, and donating half the proceeds of a series of bets placed through the afternoon, to Horses for Causes.
The large crowd enjoyed a great day at the races – Pic: Gavin Comer
The provisional financial results are promising, indicating that approximately R730 000 was raised.
Horses for Causes project member André Oosthuizen expressly overwhelming appreciation to everyone who contributed. “Support for the event has increased tremendously, over the past few weeks”, he said. “Many people involved in Western Cape racing have been incredibly generous and, we believe, have put this event on the map as one of Western Cape racing’s most significant contribution to charity and community upliftment”.
After payment of expenses, the profit will be split equally between the 14 participating NGOs. Each of the NGOs had a display area at Kenilworth showcasing their work, and all of them are eagerly looking forward to next year’s event.
