Henry Cecil Open Weekend a Gigantic Success
The Henry Cecil Open Weekend event raised a record £89,196, a remarkable 68% increase on the amount raised last year. The money will be distributed to the main charity beneficiary of the annual open weekend, The Newmarket Housing Trust, as well as the long-standing charity partner, Racing Welfare.
Charlie Fellowes, Chairman of the Henry Cecil Open Weekend, expressed his delight with the amount raised from this year’s event: “My sincere thanks go to all those who make this wonderful event possible. It is a huge team effort and without the support of our generous sponsors, advertisers, all the sites that open their doors and my fellow Newmarket trainers and their staff who give up a rare day off to open their yards, this event would not be possible.”
The revised event format, in which trainers were asked to open on a bi-annual basis, meant twenty-six yards were open for the public to go behind the scenes on Sunday 22nd September.
For the first time in the history of the Henry Cecil Open Weekend, the Clarehaven yard of John and Thady Gosden welcomed visitors alongside other famous yards including Sir Mark Prescott’s Heath House Stables. Meanwhile, William Haggas’ Sommerville Lodge yard will welcome visitors in 2025. Prizes were generously donated by World Pool for the “Best Turned-Out Yard” winners in their relevant category.
Aside from the open yards on the Sunday, a number of equine sites were also open for the public to explore including The National Stud, Injured Jockeys Fund Peter O’Sullevan House, British Racing School, Jockey Club Rooms, National Horseracing Museum, Tattersalls Bloodstock Auctioneers, Godolphin Lifetime Care and Rossdales Equine Hospital. Visitors could also enjoy an afternoon’s racing at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse as part of the weekend.
The weekend culminated on The Severals in which visitors were treated to an action-packed My Pension Expert Shetland Pony Grand National and the Al Shaqab parade of retired racehorses featuring Desert Encounter, Pirate King and Prince of Arran among others. They also witnessed Newmarket based trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy dominate the My Pension Expert racing personality show jumping competition to take home both the individual and team trophy alongside Toby Moore, Sophie Moore and Grace McEntee.
The main charity beneficiary, the Newmarket Housing Trust, is run by the Newmarket Trainers Group to create a portfolio of much-needed accommodation across the town for racing staff.
