Month: November 2021

Racing Is Everyone’s Sport 2021: ‘I Just Hope That Everyone Coming Into Racing Now Can Feel Comfortable’

Launched by Great British Racing last year and the sport's Racing with Pride network, Racing Is Everyone's Sport aims to encourage and welcome LGBT+ participation in the sport of horseracing, bringing the racing community together to champion inclusion for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people.

As part of this year's Racing Is Everyone's Sport campaign, Great British Racing brought together current jockeys and friends, Jack Duern and Josephine Gordon, to discuss Jack's experience of coming out in 2013 and the importance of allyship for the LGBT+ community.

Jockey Jack Duern (pronouns: he/him) said: “Racing has definitely come a long way since I came out in 2013. I'm proud to be the first openly gay jockey in Europe, and also proud of the racing community for accepting me for who I am and for welcoming me back into the sport.

“I'm determined to use my platform, and as an ambassador for Racing With Pride, to show other LGBT+ people, both in and out of racing, that they are not alone and that racing is everyone's sport.”

Additionally, on Saturday, Dec. 4, Racing is Everyone's Sport will also encourage and welcome LGBT+ participation in the sport of horseracing through a series of activities at racecourses across the UK that day – Sandown Park, Aintree, Chepstow, Wolverhampton and Wetherby.

Rainbow saddle cloths, kindly organized by sponsors the Kindred group (through its Unibet brand), Betfair and Betway, will be worn for a number of races across the day, including the Betfair Tingle Creek at Sandown, the Unibet Becher Chase at Aintree and The Betway Handicap stakes at Wolverhampton.

Jockeys at the four meetings will once again be encouraged to wear rainbow armbands and rainbow pin badges will be given out freely to racecourse staff and spectators to show their support and spark conversation.

Erin Williams, Sport Engagement Manager at Stonewall (they/them and she/her) said: “We're delighted that Great British Racing is continuing their support for Rainbow Laces this year, joining millions of people around the world who are committed to promoting LGBT+ inclusion in sport and fitness.

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Holiday Tradition Continues At Aqueduct With Toys For Tots

As often happens with the best ideas, this one started simply.

It dates to a few weeks prior to Christmas 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks of the United States Marine Corps Reserve admired a rag doll that his wife, Diane, had crocheted out of yarn. So how then, Diane wondered, could they give it to a needy child in time to “have a good Christmas?”

Major Hendricks didn't know of an agency that distributed toys. So the next day, he and a fellow Marine made a proposal to their superiors for an annual Marine Corps-sponsored holiday toy drive.

“Don't fail” was the only advice they got.

They didn't – with the best proof of that set for this weekend [Saturday, Dec. 4 and Sunday, Dec. 5] when Marines will be at Aqueduct on behalf of Toys for Tots, the national organization Hendricks co-founded, to collect new, unwrapped toys that will be given as holiday gifts to disadvantaged children in the community. The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, now in its 74th year of giving, also collects monetary donations, which it uses to purchase toys.

Unlike 2020 when NYRA's Toys for Tots collection was entirely online because the COVID-19 pandemic had closed racing to fans, this upcoming campaign marks a return to a longstanding holiday tradition at the Big A. You can give this year online – and in-person at donation boxes at Aqueduct's main clubhouse entrance, as well as the Turf and Field entrance.

Fans can donate at https://www.toysfortots.org/donate/ – via credit card with a secure one-step process; or by selecting and donating toys via the organization's virtual toy box. You can donate with a check made out to the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation, and mailed to: U.S. Marine Corps; Attention: GySgt, John Sardine; 605 Stewart Avenue; Garden City, NY 11530.

“This year, fans will be able to give in person at the track or virtually, allowing us to continue the tradition of working with the Marine Corps Reserve to make sure children throughout New York City and across Long Island receive toys for the holidays,” said Vanessa Rodriguez Payne, NYRA Community Relations Manager. “New York racing fans and our employees have generously supported Toys for Tots for years, and we're thrilled to encourage that giving spirit again in 2021.”

As part of its support of the Toys for Tots Foundation, NYRA is making a financial contribution to the organization. Toys for Tots is also supported by generous contributions from the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) and thoroughbred owner Harold Lerner.

“NYTHA is proud to once again support the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Foundation and the tireless work they do in bringing joy to children,” said NYTHA President Joe Appelbaum. “Our horsemen are a vital part of our local communities, and we have no greater joy than supporting the children of our friends and neighbors during the holidays, and all year round.”

Lerner cited the age-old mission of ensuring that the holidays be special for children as his impetus for supporting Toys for Toys.

“Lending a helping hand to our fellow New Yorkers is more important than ever,” he said. “The children receiving gifts should know that there is a community that cares about them.”

One of the attractions of supporting Toys for Tots is that the charity ensures that the funds and toys collected go to children in that area. That way, everything collected at Aqueduct next weekend will be distributed to New York families.

The Toys for Tots Foundation is also a Top-Rated Charity in terms of donation dollars that go directly to its mission. More than 97 percent of donations go directly to their mission of providing toys and other gifts to less fortunate children.

Last year, Marines distributed a record 20.2 million toys to 7.4 million less fortunate children throughout the nation during the Toys for Tots campaign. Collecting and distributing that many toys in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated what Lt. Gen. Jim Lester, President and CEO of Toys for Tots, described as public support for which the organization is “beyond grateful.”

“The need in 2020 was much greater than the supply in terms of the number of families with children seeking our support ,” said Lt. Gen. Lester. “The support we received made a difference to families who are struggling and provided joy and hope when they needed it the most. We were absolutely blown away by the donations we received.”

For more information on the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation, visit www.toysfortots.org.

About The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation
The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is a not for profit organization authorized by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Department of Defense to provide fundraising and other necessary support for the annual Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Now in its 74th year, Toys for Tots provides joy and a message of hope to economically disadvantaged children through the gift of a new toy during the Christmas holiday season. Their gifts offer these children recognition and a positive memory they will cherish for a lifetime. Many of the gifts they provide, such as books, games and sports equipment, make a significant contribution to the educational, social and physical development of these children.

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‘Fallen A Long Way Short’? BHA’s Jockey Bullying Case Could Have Wide-Ranging Consequences

Tuesday starts the British Horseracing Authority's hearing into the weighing room bullying case brought by female jockey Bryony Frost against male rider Robbie Dunne. Racing broadcaster Nick Luck welcomed Daily Mirror journalist David Yates to his podcast, Nick Luck Daily, to discuss how this case could affect both the BHA and the industry as a whole, as well as the two jockeys.

Frost has been adamant that her reasoning for bringing this case is not a personal vendetta but rather a desire to change the weighing room culture for the generation that follows hers.

“If this case doesn't succeed, you can make your own judgement as to whether that culture is indeed going to change,” Yates said.

Dunne, who has been charged with three counts of alleged abusive or threatening behavior, faces a punishment ranging up to a three-year ban from the sport. Yates points out that since Dunne is 36 years old, that could effectively mean the end of his career.

As for the BHA, the way in which it has dealt with this case will be “held up to the light.” With leaks to the Sunday Times and the lengthy amount of time the process has taken, Yates suggests the organization will likely face judgement on its competency.

Perhaps the most wide-ranging consequences of this hearing are those that would touch the industry as a whole.

“Racing has quite rightly made much capital out of the fact that men and women in the sport compete on equal terms,” said Yates. “It rightly points out the progress that it feels has been made in leveling out what I think we would all agree was a very unlevel playing field to start off with. It's not just people who are interested in racing who are looking at this case. Again, it's very likely that were this case to show that there is a culture of bullying in the weighing room, for horse racing, all the work it's tried to do to level up between the genders over the last decade or so, it would be seen I think publicly that a lot of that work had either been undone or had fallen a long way short.”

Listen to the entire discussion on Nick Luck Daily.

The post ‘Fallen A Long Way Short’? BHA’s Jockey Bullying Case Could Have Wide-Ranging Consequences appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Toys for Tots Back at Aqueduct

Unlike in 2020 when NYRA's Toys for Tots collection was entirely online because the COVID-19 pandemic had closed racing to fans, the 2021 campaign marks a return to a longstanding holiday tradition at Aqueduct, as Marines will be at the Big A on behalf of Toys for Tots to collect new, unwrapped toys that will be given as holiday gifts to disadvantaged children in the community. You can give this year online–and in-person at donation boxes at Aqueduct's main clubhouse entrance, as well as the Turf and Field entrance.

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, now in its 74th year of giving, also collects monetary donations, which it uses to purchase toys. Fans can donate here via credit card with a secure one-step process; or by selecting and donating toys via the organization's virtual toy box. You can donate with a check made out to the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation, and mailed to: U.S. Marine Corps; Attention: GySgt, John Sardine; 605 Stewart Avenue; Garden City, NY 11530.

“This year, fans will be able to give in person at the track or virtually, allowing us to continue the tradition of working with the Marine Corps Reserve to make sure children throughout New York City and across Long Island receive toys for the holidays,” said Vanessa Rodriguez Payne, NYRA Community Relations Manager. “New York racing fans and our employees have generously supported Toys for Tots for years, and we're thrilled to encourage that giving spirit again in 2021.”

As part of its support of the Toys for Tots Foundation, NYRA is making a financial contribution to the organization. Toys for Tots is also supported by generous contributions from the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) and thoroughbred owner Harold Lerner.

The post Toys for Tots Back at Aqueduct appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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