The Racehorse Owners Association's fundraising efforts at the annual ROA Awards last December, headed by ROA Council member Tony Hirschfeld, has resulted in a payment of almost £64,000 being split between the three designated charity recipients: HEROS, the Malton Fire Appeal and the Tristram Ricketts Appeal for the Spinal Injuries Association.
HEROS, the racehorse retraining and rehoming centre in Wantage, was the main beneficiary of the event, receiving a donation of over £33,000. ROA Council member Lucinda Freedman presented the cheque to HEROS chief executive Grace Muir.The Malton Fire Appeal, run by Racing Welfare, received £18,032 from the proceeds of owners having their racing colours depicted in the Awards souvenir brochure.
The Tristram Ricketts Appeal for the Spinal Injuries Association received £12,500 from the auction of a special lot donated by Paul Roy for the evening's Grand Auction.
Tony Hirschfeld said: "We are delighted to have been able to donate these sums to our charity beneficiaries, thanks to the generosity of ROA members and guests at our 2009 Awards, which was sponsored by Sportingbet. This was the highest amount we have raised so far at the Awards.
"Grace and the team at HEROS carry out invaluable work and we hope that our donation will assist with their important efforts. The ROA was also very pleased to raise money for such worthy causes as the Malton Fire Appeal and the Tristram Ricketts Appeal."
Grace Muir, chief executive of HEROS, said: "We'd like to extend a huge thank you to the ROA for supporting HEROS in this way, and recognising our work in promoting responsible ownership and demonstrating what horses can do after racing. We hope we can continue to work with the ROA in future."
