Cheltenham race to help retired racehorses

Cash will be raised to provide valuable help for retired racehorses in Britain on the third day of The Open meeting at Cheltenham.

The Direct Answers Hurdle, the feature event that day, is being re-named the Rehabilitation Of Racehorses Hurdle as part of a major racing charity initiative.

The Stg£50,000 handicap hurdle over two miles on Sunday, November 18th, backed for the second year running by Direct Answers, is the most valuable hurdle race of the British National Hunt season to date.

The initiative will see at least Stg£20,000 go to the charity Rehabilitation of Racehorses, which was launched in April last year.

Rehabilitation of Racehorses, which provides financial help to support the re-schooling and re-homing of former racehorses, raised Stg£229,000 in its first eight months, up to the end of December last year.

It gives grants to three existing rehabilitation centres and is hoping to raise over more than Stg£300,000 this year.

About 4,000horses leave racing each year and, in the vast majority of cases, owners, breeders and trainers take plenty of care in finding suitable new homes for them.

But every year more than 200 horses fall through the net and end up needing help.

Andrew Parker Bowles, chairman of Rehabilitation of Racehorses, said today: 'We are always very grateful for the generous support from everyone in racing but do need more money. 'We are delighted that Rehabilitation of Racehorses will benefit substantially.'