Woodbine Entertainment Group, in partnership with LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, will once again give horse racing aficionados a chance to take home a piece of history, courtesy of a unique fundraiser
in conjunction with this year’s historic Queen’s Plate, Canada’s most famous horse race.
Each of the starters in the 151st edition of the Plate will wear customized saddlecloths that will be autographed by the riding jockey following the race and then auctioned exclusively on eBay during the week of July 5-July 11 with all proceeds going to LongRun Retirement Society.
The opening bid for each saddlecloth is $250.
“This is a particularly significant Queen's Plate with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh in attendance,” said Jane Holmes, Woodbine Entertainment Group’s VP Corporate Affairs. “We expect the saddlecloths will be a valuable collector’s item and with the number of horses in the race, they will generate significant revenue for LongRun.”
Vicki Pappas, Chairperson of LongRun, also expects another huge response to the highly sought-after collectible saddlecloths.
“We and our horses at LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society are most fortunate to be operating within the Ontario racing industry, perhaps the most compassionate and generous group of horse people anywhere,” said Pappas.
“Woodbine has always been a leader in assisting with the placement of our deserving athletes once their racing careers are over,” continued Pappas. “The innovative idea of auctioning off those beautiful saddlecloths worn by entrants in our most prestigious race, The Queen’s Plate, was hatched three years ago by WEG’s Jane Holmes and Steven Koch.”
A table staffed by LongRun will be set up at the Queen’s Plate breakfast (July 1) with last year’s winning saddlecloth (Eye of the Leopard) on display.
There will also be a LongRun kiosk set up in Woodbine’s Hall of Fame area with the Eye of the Leopard saddlecloth on display, along with information on the bidding.
(WEG)