Young writers of the future to share their passion for horseracing through the power of the written word
The second annual Awards for Young Writers on Horseracing launched on Monday 16th September and will run until the 14th January 2025. The Awards follow on from the Martin Wills Prize which ran for a number of years and launched the career of horseracing journalist and podcaster, Nick Luck (also a Trustee of the National Horseracing Museum).
Sarah Coleman, Creative Director for the National Horseracing Museum explained “The competition is open to young people aged 11 to 25 in the UK, for entries on horseracing subjects. The deadline is midnight on 14th January 2025 and we can’t wait to hear from you and look forward to reading your exciting articles!”
Thanks to the Wilmington Trust, there are two categories with generous prizes for winning entries:
- 16-25 years £500 up to 1200 words
- 11-15 years £250 up to 700 words
By taking part, young people will develop research skills and explore sports journalism writing styles and the winning entries will be published in the Racing Post. All finalists and their participating settings will receive a Certificate of Participation.
Submitted essays will be judged by a range of specialists from the media, horseracing industry and the Wilmington Trust, including David Milnes from the Racing Post, Oli Bell and Rishi Persad from ITV Racing and the Editor of the Newmarket Journal, Alison Hayes. The judging panel will be looking for winning entries showing journalistic skill, original content and exciting stories on horseracing subjects or current or past races.
Rishi Persad said “I am always keen to help identify and support any youngsters with a deep passion for racing and a talent for writing. I am looking forward to reading this year’s entries, as the Awards for Young Writers is a great opportunity for them to show us what they can do and who knows what path it may lead them onto in the future.”
A prize ceremony for shortlisted entries and winners will be held at the National Horseracing Museum (NHRM) in Newmarket with complimentary family passes to visit the museum in 2025.
Last year’s winning entry in the 11-15 category :
A Second Chance – by 11-year-old Charlotte Cornish
Newmarket has a long history of racing, for many years racing has drawn crowds since the reign of James I, with the racecourse being founded in 1636. Whilst racing has stood the test of time and lasted many years in Newmarket, a racehorse’s career is fleetingly brief.
Flat racehorses retire after an average of four years, between the ages of two and six, leaving many years of life.
Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) is British horseracing’s official charity for the welfare of racehorses that have retired. It believes a horse should have a second chance to live a new life outside racing. On average, 7,000 horses leave racing each year. That is 7,000 new beginnings. The Rothschild Yard at Newmarket Racing Museum (NHRM) was officially opened in 2016 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It retrains ex-racehorses, housing six at a time. Since 2016, it has retrained 80 horses giving them a new way of life. Their famous Flat racehorse residents have included Big Orange, Goldream, Kingsgate Native, Battaash and jump stars Penhill, Big Bucks and Our Vic.
Each horse may stay for one to three months, depending on the need of the individual. During their stay they have a routine where they exercise on a walker for 20 to 40 minutes each day. This is comfortingly familiar as they are used to the walker from their racing days and spend time in the turn out paddock. This is a paddock for exercise, rather than grazing because grass is not part of racehorse’s diet, they are fed haylage (fermented hay).
In the arena they are taught how to change their body shape from a racehorse to a general hobby horse.
Lesley, a volunteer at NHRM, said: “A racehorse learns to be pushed out flat (to get their nose in front), whereas a ‘riding horse’ is pulled back in. They need to learn to use their energy to go up rather than out (containing their energy). Different muscle groups have to be developed to move differently in these ways.
“It’s like you carrying a small child on your shoulders and then you learn to carry the child in a piggyback ride. That would require different muscles to be developed. Think about retraining Usain Bolt, a sprinter, to do something like a heptathlon – learning different skills.”
Retrained racehorses can go on to have varied careers such as dressage, polo, eventing, show jumping and therapy horses. The lives of many people are enriched by ex-racehorses. Newmarket Horse Racing Museum and the Retraining of Racehorses charity provide the opportunity for ex-racehorses to have this second chance.
If you’re interested in entering and would like to find out more about the Awards you can visit NHRM’s website here.
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