Retired racing staff head to Cheshire during Mental Health Awareness Week

This week almost fifty retirees from the racing industry headed to Cheshire for the annual Racing Welfare holiday. Their busy itinerary included trips to Haydock Park and into Chester city, plus a tour of Michael Owen’s Manor House Stables.

Although on the surface the holiday would seem to be simply a nice perk for former employees of the sport, the benefits of the initiative are heavily felt by those who might otherwise struggle to take a break.

Jimmy and Pam Miller attended last year’s holiday to Studley Castle in Warwickshire, they said: “Since [a period of ill-health] we’d struggled to get away. We worried about health issues and worried that something might happen whilst we were away from home.

“Then Racing Welfare offered us a place on their holiday – and, oh we had a wonderful time! It was reassuring to know that there was always someone there to hand if we needed them. It really gave us our confidence back and we now feel able to plan trips independently again.”

It seems timely that this year’s holiday takes place during Mental Health Awareness Week – a week during which Racing Welfare encourages the racing community to talk about mental health, with a particular focus this year on anxiety. One of the key messages of the campaign is that anyone can experience anxiety and, even though the pace of life may have changed for those now retired from our sport, the conversation must not stop for people like Jimmy and Pam, either.

Godolphin generously supports Racing Welfare’s holiday initiative. It aims to bring the retired racing community together to reduce loneliness and isolation and offers a much-needed respite break to beneficiaries, their partners and carers. To find out more about Racing Welfare’s support for retired racing staff head to Racing Welfare’s website or call Racing’s Support Line on 0800 6300 443.