The final twenty-two local charities & community groups that could benefit to the tune of £5,000 from the inaugural Sky Bet Ebor Community Fund have been announced.

York Racecourse and Sky Bet are teaming up to celebrate their partnership over York’s most famous race, the Ebor and are turning furlongs into funding for a local community cause with a £5,000 grant to a community project or charity based in and around York.

The 2019 Sky Bet Ebor Community Fund offers twenty-two local organisations a chance to win £5,000 if their allocated horse wins the Sky Bet Ebor itself.

Local charities and community groups were asked to nominate a project or cause for a chance to receive the cash prize and having been oversubscribed, a draw has seen the below twenty-two nominated. Thirteen of them are from inside the York ring road, with the rest a geographic spread out to Malton and some surrounding areas.

They include a mix of community groups and more formal charities; some looking for help towards a big fundraising drive, others for the type of support that keeps them going. They are:

-     York Respiratory Group
-     Different Strokes York
-     York Bike Belles
-     MySight York
-     St Leonards Hospice
-     Friends of Newton’s River Derwent
-     Ryedale Dog Rescue
-     East Cottingwith Village Hall
-     Ryedale & District Mencap
-     The Wilberforce Trust
-     Stamford Bridge Community Pool
-     Tadcaster Volunteer Car Service Association
-     Encephalitis Society
-     York & District Group Riding for the Disabled Association
-     Kitchen for Everyone York (KEY)
-     York City Football Club Foundation
-     York Samaritans
-     Door 84
-     York RI RUFC-Streamers
-     York Cares
-     Dementia Yorkshire (CIO)
-     City of York Hockey club

Initial reactions from the good causes indicates a real excitement around the fund; with Julia Clark from the Encephalitis Society, saying “thank you so much! We’ll be delighted to attend. One of the team, Caroline is a former racehorse trainer so we will be eagerly studying the form of our horse and look forward to the day.”

With Josey Hall from Ryedale and District Mencap continuing; “A big thank you to all those involved for offering this fabulous opportunity. The prize money would really be phenomenal but even the exposure we will get just taking part means an awful lot to a grass roots charity like us.”

Helen Rawling from Kitchen for Everyone York, summed up the mood, saying, “that is great news. We look forward to being there on the day and cheering on our horse.”

Each of the 22 projects will now be allocated a runner in the big race run on Saturday 24 August, with the action on the track being the way to determine the winner - the organisation who is allocated the winning horse will then receive the £5,000.

Commenting on the initiative, Michael Shinners, Head of Sports PR at Sky Bet, said: “The Ebor is named in recognition of the Roman name for York and has been running for over 160 years. During that time there have been some fantastic occasions and as a Yorkshire based company, we’re proud to support a community based project or charity in the city that has given so much to York Races and the sport as a whole.”

First run in 1843, the race has long been at the heart of the sporting and social narrative of York. In 2019, the latest chapter in a rich history of racing, will be written. The Ebor becomes the richest handicap run on the flat in Europe, offering a prize fund of £1,000,000 for the first time.

Talking about the 2019 Ebor Community Fund, James Brennan, Head of Marketing at York Racecourse said: “It’s a way to help further connect the famous race and our local community; we hope it all adds to the rich story of the Ebor. York Racecourse is proud to have been in the city since 1731 and is delighted to be in partnership with our Yorkshire based sponsor to support a valuable community project or charity.”

Each organisation will be allocated a stall number for the race. When the draw for stalls is made at random on Thursday 22 August each cause will find out their runner for the race. A pair of representatives of each cause have been invited to be present for Sky Bet Ebor day on Saturday 24 August and the successful representatives will be invited to join in the celebrations with the connections of the winning horse.