Celebrating 20 years of Charity Raceday sponsorship at Newbury Racecourse

Celebrations will be in order on Friday 28th February 2020 as Mencap mark 20 years of charity raceday sponsorship at Newbury Racecourse. In a remarkable achievement, over the past two decades of fundraising at this event, the West Berkshire based charity have raised over half a million pounds for the charity which specialises in providing high quality services to people with learning disabilities, their families, carers and professionals.

Sara Vaughan CEO said, “We are delighted to be reaching this milestone date in the diary with Newbury Racecourse. West Berkshire Mencap have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with Newbury over the last 20 years and we look forward to continuing successful fundraising in this way in 2020.”

Mencap currently hold the record for the longest serving charity raceday sponsor at Newbury Racecourse and are in fact the third longest standing race sponsorship at Newbury after Haynes, Hanson & Clark who will next year mark 40 years sponsorship of conditions stakes.  

Lara Johnston, Sponsorship Manager for Newbury Racecourse said, “We are thrilled to continue working with West Berkshire Mencap. We have enjoyed a great relationship with the team at West Berkshire Mencap for a number of years and are excited to help make 2020’s event the most successful yet.”

“Newbury Racecourse has a long history of working closely with charity partners, social enterprises and schools. The Mencap Charity Raceday is a prime example of a long-standing partnership that has enabled a much-loved day in the racing calendar. We applaud the work being carried out by the team at West Berkshire Mencap and we are proud to play a part in helping to make a real impact in our local community.”

West Berkshire Mencap exists to provide high quality services for people with learning disabilities, their families, carers and professionals and have been in existence for over 60 years and has a vision of a world where people with learning disabilities are valued equally.

The Annual Raceday, is an opportunity for individuals, groups of friends, family or companies to enjoy a fabulous day out at the races with food and wine whilst raising much needed funds for West Berkshire Mencap. Individual tickets are available for £160 per person, £1600 for a table of 10 and an opportunity for companies to sponsor a race for £5000 which includes a table of 10 for the sponsor and their guests.  

As well as facilitating the raceday, the racecourse also supports the charity by encouraging racegoers to donate their leftover change or raceday winnings to Mencap via volunteers carrying out bucket collections at the exits.