On Saturday 16 June, 11 amateur riders - including Love Island star Chris Hughes - will take part in a charity race in front of approaching 30,000 people to raise vital money for people living with cancer.
Known as the ‘Best Western Hotels & Macmillan Ride of their Lives’, the participants will go head-to-head on the iconic York Racecourse to fundraise for Macmillan Cancer Support.

All of the riders have been touched by cancer in some way and they’ve each pledged to raise at least £3,000. Every penny raised will help Macmillan support the growing number of people living with cancer across the UK.

As part of the challenge, the riders - including Coral’s Love Racing ambassador Chris Hughes - will race thoroughbred horses and have spent the past five months training to master the art.

The highlight of the ‘Macmillan Charity Raceday’, the event will also include a range of other fundraising activities, such as raffles and charity lunches, alongside a full programme of seven races.

For more information on the Macmillan Charity Raceday or the charity riders, please visit www.macmillan.org.uk/charityraceday. A contribution from each ticket sold will be made to Macmillan.

The Raceday online auction is open to anyone and one lot is already live – a money-can’t-buy experience to attend the upcoming England vs Belgium group game of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which has been kindly donated by Sunseeker International. The lucky bidder will be the official England flag bearer, joining the players of both teams in the tunnel before kick-off and then stepping out onto the pitch before the start of the match.

To take part in the Macmillan Charity Raceday online auction, please visit www.macmillanyorkraceday.co.uk.

Macmillan Charity Raceday is a fundraising collaboration between York Racecourse and Macmillan Cancer Support. The day of professional racing and fundraising has been held annually since 1971, raising more than £7 million in total for Macmillan and other charitable causes. Raceday last year raised a grand total of £500,000.

As their date with destiny looms, the full racecard featuring our intrepid dozen can be found here

Participants in the ‘Best Western Hotels & Macmillan Ride of their Lives’:

Isabella Budge, 25, Colton, near Tadcaster
Jill Boak, 43, Malton
Annabel England, 45, Naunton, Gloucestershire
Jeremy Corkell, 53, Sinnington, near York
Karen Thompson, 42, Bedale
Sarah Fanning, 37, Middleham
Helen Hinton, 55, Kirby Fleetham, near Northallerton
Bertie Hayton, 24, Nunnington, York
Chris Hughes, 25, Cheltenham, Gloustershire
Scarlet Ward, 26, Aikenfield, Aike, East Yorkshire
Chris Brownless, 62, nr Alnwick, Northumberland