HOT TO TROT OWNERS ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES FOR CHARITY

Features | 31st May 2023

There’s much more to racehorse ownership than a day at the races when you’re part of a successful syndicate. Shareholders with Hot To Trot discovered exactly that when they spent a day volunteering at Greatwood Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre in Marlborough, Wiltshire.

They joined Hot To Trot’s racing manager Sam Hoskins to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into a range of stable duties as part of the annual Racing Together Community Day on 25th May.

“Our owners were delighted to be at Greatwood to offer our help and support for the day,” says Sam. “It was heartwarming to give a little bit back to a racing charity and experience first hand the amazing work that goes on there.

“We were poo picking, pulling up weeds and tidying up the arena as well as enjoying a guided tour of the centre. We also met some of the retired stars and non-stars and enjoyed it so much we plan to do it again.”

Greatwood founder and Managing Director Helen Yeadon adds: “We were very grateful to Hot To Trot’s syndicate members for spending the whole day with us and doing some quite difficult tasks to get us well prepared for our forthcoming birthday celebrations.”

Lucy Gurney, the Community Engagement Manager for Racing Together, explains: “Our Community Day is racing’s collective volunteering effort and takes place all over the country every May.

“We encourage everyone involved or interested in racing to do work in their local community or for a local charity so to see Hot To Trot members having fun at Greatwood while giving something back to the sport was fantastic.

“Their contribution was part of a nationwide programme of activities which also included food bank volunteering in Newmarket, Lambourn, Yorkshire and other activities in Scotland.”

Hot To Trot have at least five leased horses in training every year with the ethos of racing at a high level whilst keeping the cost of shared ownership as low as possible.

They have enjoyed considerable success on some of the biggest stages including victory in the 2017 Queen Mary Stakes with Heartache and a Group 3 win in 2019 with Kurious.

This season’s flag bearer Get Ahead is set for a crack at the Group 2 King George Stakes at Goodwood’s Qatar Glorious Festival after winning the Listed Cecil Frail Stakes at Haydock Park at the end of May.

Greatwood, which celebrates its 25th anniversary on 17th June, was the first charity to use former racehorses to educate disadvantaged children and young adults with special educational needs and is located at Rainscombe Hill Farm in Clench Common, Marlborough.