WEG and LongRun saddle up for Plate fundraiser

TORONTO, July 1 – Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), in partnership with LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, will once again give horse racing aficionados a chance to take home a piece of history, courtesy of a unique fundraiser in conjunction with this year’s historic Queen’s Plate, Canada’s most famous horse race.

Each of the starters in the 151st edition of the Plate will wear customized saddlecloths that will be autographed by the riding jockey following the race and then auctioned exclusively on eBay during the week of July 5-July 11 with all proceeds going to LongRun Retirement Society (longrunretirement.com).

The opening bid for each saddlecloth is $250.
“This is a particularly significant Queen’s Plate with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh in attendance,” said Jane Holmes, Woodbine Entertainment Group’s VP Corporate Affairs. “We expect the saddlecloths will be a valuable collector’s item and with the number of horses in the race, they will generate significant revenue for LongRun.”

Vicki Pappas, Chairperson of LongRun, also expects another huge response to the highly sought-after collectible saddlecloths.
“We and our horses at LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society are most fortunate to be operating within the Ontario racing industry, perhaps the most compassionate and generous group of horse people anywhere,” said Pappas.

“Woodbine has always been a leader in assisting with the placement of our deserving athletes once their racing careers are over,” continued Pappas. “The innovative idea of auctioning off those beautiful saddlecloths worn by entrants in our most prestigious race, The Queen’s Plate, was hatched three years ago by WEG’s Jane Holmes and Steven Koch.”
A table staffed by LongRun will be set up at the Queen’s Plate breakfast (July 1) with last year’s winning saddlecloth (Eye of the Leopard) on display.

There will also be a LongRun kiosk set up in Woodbine’s Hall of Fame area with the Eye of the Leopard saddlecloth on display, along with information on the bidding.
More information will be available on www.woodbineentertainment.com

As a strong community partner, WEG actively lends its leadership to a number of community organizations and environmental causes and is the only not-for-profit corporation that is a member of Imagine Canada, a national program that promotes public and corporate giving, volunteerism and support to the community. The benchmark of membership and the recognition of being a “caring company” is donating 1% of pre-tax profits to charities. WEG exceeds that requirement and donates in excess of 3% of net revenues annually to charities.
LongRun is one of the first adoption and placement programs for thoroughbred racehorses in Canada whose aim is to offer an alternative to owners and trainers – rather than have horses continue to race that are no longer able to compete. LongRun tries to help by fostering, rehabilitating and finding permanent adoptive homes and alternative careers as pleasure horses or companion animals. They also aim to educate the Ontario thoroughbred racing community, as well as the public, about these alternatives.

For information contact: