One of York’s top races will be run in memory of the inspirational shoe retailer Cathy Paver who died earlier this year.

The Catherine Kinloch Paver Memorial Macmillan Charity Stakes is the richest handicap for three-year-olds in Europe. It will be held on Saturday June 17 and will be televised on ITV4.

It forms part of the Macmillan Charity Raceday, the charity’s biggest single fund-raising event of the year.

Cathy Paver was the founder of the York-based Pavers, which is now a hugely-successful global footwear retailer.

Beth Morgan-Henderson, head of brand and marketing at Pavers and a friend of Cathy’s, said: “Cathy loved racing and owned racehorses and this is a very appropriate way of remembering her and honouring her legacy in her home city. It is especially relevant because this race is the highlight of Macmillan Cancer Support’s charity day and Cathy herself died from this terrible disease.

“We all miss Cathy so much at Pavers, but we will be celebrating her life in style on June 17. We are looking forward to an unforgettable day, which I know she would have loved. Some of the money raised on the day will go to York Against Cancer, our other charity partner.

“We are hoping that Kinloch Pride, which Cathy owned with her son Graham, will be running in another race on the same day. A decision will be made during the week before the race, but it would be truly wonderful if Kinloch Pride, a horse Cathy loved, ran and won. I don’t think there would be a dry eye amongst her family and friends,”

The £100,000 six-furlong race has been won by the likes of Cadeux Genereux, Sheikh Albdadou, Tax Free and Mr Lupton in the past, with a number of Yorkshire victors over the years.

James Brennan, head of marketing and sponsorship manager at York Racecourse, commented: “We are absolutely delighted that a long-standing and successful York business, with deep roots in the city, is generously supporting our charity race day.

“The money raised from the day changes lives and we hope the day itself provides a positive way for people to fundraise while enjoying themselves. So far these race days at York have raised over £7,000,000 and each year adds about £400,000, weather permitting.

“Just by attending, and coming to remember Cathy, then racegoers play their part, as do sponsors. Macmillan get the lion’s share of the donation but a portion is kept to help other charities and York against Cancer (the other Paver charity partner) is a regular beneficiary,” said Mr Brennan.
Cathy Paver started Pavers in 1971 with a £200 loan - and left behind an international organisation with 160 shops across three continents.  Born in May 1928 Cathy, as she was known, was one of five children brought up in a working class area of Kirkcaldy, in Fife, Scotland.

She moved to York in 1943 to find work when her parents could no longer afford for her to continue in senior school and her first job was helping wounded soldiers in the city’s military hospital.

Her first retail job was at Boots, and it was around this time she met and married her husband of 51 years, Michael Paver, who was also a great lover and supporter of horse-racing in Yorkshire.

After a period selling from people’s living rooms and pioneering out of town retailing the company opened its first high street shop, in Scarborough, in 1982.  Others in York, Hull and Newcastle quickly followed – and the rest is history.