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28th March 2024
01:56pm GMT
Virgin Bet organised the first-ever Women's Day at Ayr Racecourse to celebrate women in racing.
On March 9, the event took place at Ayr Races, and served as a celebratory day to highlight that racing welcomes everyone and is open to everyone.
The event featured two insightful panels hosted by Scottish presenting star Natalie Pike, designed to introduce racing fans to some of the remarkable women doing incredible work in horse racing.
The first of these panels was the Legendary Women of the Horse Racing, made up of the chief executive of Scottish Racing Delly Innes and esteemed trainer Harriet Graham.
This was followed by the Creative Inclusivity in Racing panel, featuring jockey Charlotte Jones and CEO and Founder of WalkSafe Emma Kay.
Pike acted as compere throughout the day, and said she had "loved" being a part of the project.
She said: “I’ve loved being a part of creating this project with the teams at Virgin Bet and Ayr Racecourse, and hope it can inspire the next generation of incredible women working in horse racing. Sport is for everyone, and activations such as this are crucial to ensuring inclusivity and safety for women at events, and ultimately heroing the brilliant people who work in the sport.”
Virgin Bet had partnered with WalkSafe for the event, an app developed to promote safer journeys. Throughout the day, Virgin Bet highlighted the app's functions, giving female attendees peace of mind when travelling to and from the racecourse.
Meanwhile, Sandra McCall, CEO of Ayrshire Cancer Support, was invited as a guest VIP to the day in honour of all the work and support she has done in the local area. Ayr Racecourse has long been supporter of the work the charity does, and Virgin Bet also donated £1,000 to the charity as part of their race day sponsorship.
Of course, a day at the races is always an opportunity to dress up, and there were prizes on offer for the sharpest grooms on the day.
Virgin Bet gave the women in attendance the chance to pick a Best Turned Out (BTO) winner before each race, with the winning groom taking home £50. The BTO winners from each race were then entered into a prize draw to win a £200 gift voucher.
For the third race of the day, the Virgin Bet Daily Extra Places Handicap Chase, panel attendee Helen Shaw had her name drawn from a hat, and got the honour of picking a BTO winner and presenting the trophies to the race's winning owner and trainer.
The day proved to be the perfect platform to celebrate women in horse racing, reminding everyone that racing is a sport for all.
For more information, head to https://www.virginbet.com/. 18+. Bet responsibly. www.Begambleaware.org.
