The Pat Smullen Race Day in aid of Cancer Trials Ireland will receive a guaranteed €1,000 donation through a new charity fundraising initiative running across The Curragh’s Summer Series this August, with the final total having the potential to grow through a series of charity bets.
Alongside the guaranteed donation, Tote will fund a €250 charity bet at each of the four Summer Series meetings on 9th, 16th, 22nd and 29th of August. Any winnings from the four bets will be added in full to the €1,000 donation, increasing the final amount received by Cancer Trials Ireland.
Funds raised will support vital pancreatic cancer research, via the Pat Smullen Pancreatic Cancer Fund, within Cancer Trials Ireland. The initiative will culminate on 29th August, which marks Pat Smullen Race Day at The Curragh and also features the Tote Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap.
The campaign is already underway following the first charity bet last weekend, with three further selections to be made across the remaining Summer Series fixtures.
Each weekly charity bet will be selected by a different racing media personality, with their selections shared across Tote and The Curragh’s social media channels ahead of each meeting.
The final fundraising total, comprising the guaranteed €1,000 donation plus any winnings generated through the four charity bets, will be presented to Cancer Trials Ireland following the conclusion of the Summer Series on 29 August.
Cancer Trials Ireland is Ireland’s leading cancer clinical trials organisation, working with hospitals, researchers and international partners to provide patients with access to pioneering cancer treatments through clinical research.
Lynda Reilly, Head of Tote Ireland, said:
“Cancer Trials Ireland carries out incredibly important work and its connection to Pat Smullen makes this a cause that means a great deal to the Irish racing community.
“We’re delighted to guarantee €1,000 through the campaign and hopefully, with a few winning selections across the Summer Series, we can build on that and present Cancer Trials Ireland with an even bigger donation on Pat Smullen Race Day.”
Angela Clayton-Lea, CEO of Cancer Trials Ireland said:
“By supporting the Pat Smullen Race Day in aid of Cancer Trials Ireland, you are helping us to open more clinical trials. That means you are improving the outcomes, and lives, of the people with cancer who are able to take part in these trials.
At present though, for every hundred people who sit in the doctor’s office, hearing the word ‘cancer’ for the first time, just three-to-four of those people get to go on a trial investigating a new drug. We are working hard to change that. And with your help, we will.
For decades, pancreatic cancer has resisted effective treatment, leaving the majority of patients with a very poor prognosis. But in recent months, researchers have published positive results on Daraxonrasib that targets the main mutation found in 90% of pancreatic cancer patients.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Tote is sponsoring five races across The Curragh Summer Series during August.
- The Summer Series takes place on 9th, 16th, 22nd and 29th August, concluding with the Tote Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap on 29th
- Tote will make a guaranteed €1,000 donation to the Cancer Trials Ireland.
- In addition to the guaranteed donation, Tote will fund four €250 charity bets across the Summer Series.
- Any winnings generated by the four charity bets will be added in full to the €1,000 donation.
- Charity bet selections will be made by recognised racing media personalities and shared across Tote and The Curragh’s social media channels ahead of each meeting.
- The final fundraising total will be presented to Cancer Trials Ireland following the conclusion of the Summer Series on 29th August.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Natalie Bradford
Head of Marketing
UK Tote Group
[email protected]
