The British Horseracing Authority is today announcing its continued support of the charity, Tickets For Troops, for the second year running. Every racecourse in Britain has joined forces to make an incredible donation of over 40,000 free tickets to the races in 2011, so that members of HM Forces from across the country will be able to enjoy a top day out, as a gesture to recognise their continued service for our country.
Over 5,000 members of Tickets For Troops took up the offer of a visit to the races in 2010, and Britain’s racecourses hope to see even more visiting in future months. Over 1,100 fixtures from all around the country have been included in the offer and, as children under 16 go free to every British racecourse, this offer will allow many of our servicemen and women to have a well-deserved family day out for free.
Tickets For Troops is a charity that supports the work of serving military personnel and veterans by offering them free tickets to events around the country. Britain’s racecourses have made a range of offers, some offering unlimited tickets for troops at every fixture and some including tickets to their major racing festivals. Goodwood Racecourse has donated 500 tickets to the first day of Glorious Goodwood, one of the major sporting events of the year, plus an additional 500 tickets to their opening raceday, while Epsom, who last year initiated an entire raceday in support of the charity, have pledged 600 free tickets across the summer months. Hexham and Thirsk are providing unlimited free tickets throughout the year, while other courses have offered ticket quantities well into their thousands.
Top Jockey Richard Johnson, who is a Patron of Tickets For Troops alongside other names such as Freddie Flintoff, Steven Gerrard and Dame Kelly Holmes, said:
“British racing has been a supporter of Tickets For Troops since the charity was initiated and I’m delighted to see the level of support that is continuing into 2011. It’s an incredible charity that aims to go some way to recognising the inspirational job that our country’s forces do every day of their lives, and hopefully our being a part of it goes some way to saying thank you.”
Lord Marland, Chairman of Tickets For Troops said:
“Tickets For Troops are delighted to once again receive such generous support from the British Horseracing Authority. We would like to thank all the racecourses who have wanted to demonstrate their support and show their appreciation for the dedication and commitment of the marvellous men and women of our Armed Forces.”
In addition to horseracing, thousands of tickets have been made available for the 2012 Olympics, top Premier League football matches, rugby games, cricket matches, boxing, athletics meetings, big music acts, tennis tournaments, snooker halls and West End theatres.
To find out more about this initiative, visit:
