Walking courses in bid to raise a million
Sunday will see the a marker put down as part of a million pound fundraiser at Kelso Racecourse - on two legs rather than four.
Tuesday, 29th September 2015, 11:39 am
SBBN-01-10-15 Walking racecourses for charity kelso
The racecourse will become the last Scottish course to welcome Richard Farquhar (53), the inspiring father of four who is walking 3,000 miles around the UK from racecourse to racecourse in an ambitious initiative called 'Walking The Courses'.
Farquhar will be arriving at Kelso having walked the 42 miles across the hills from Musselburgh Racecourse.
His mission is to connect all sixty of Britain's racecourses on foot. He was inspired to undertake the challenge after losing his father in 2012 to pancreatic cancer. With both father and son lifelong racing fans, Farquhar decided he wanted to involve all of the nation's racecourses in his plan.
He is hoping his marathon efforts will raise a huge £1.4 million to be split equally between two charities very close to his heart, Pancreatic Cancer UK and Racing Welfare.
The latter takes care of the stable, stud and support staff of British Horse Racing, ensuring the wellbeing of the sport's unsung heroes.
The meeting at Kelso on Sunday will mark the end of Walking The Courses' time in Scotland. Earlier this month, Farquhar visited Ayr, Hamilton and Perth, completing the walks to and from each of these courses as he went.
To mark the end of the Musselburgh to Kelso leg, Farquhar will be walking around the Kelso course itself before the meeting at 1.10pm. He hopes to be joined by familiar faces from the racing world and other supporters of the campaign. Racegoers are also invited to partake in the lap of the track and should get in contact via his website (www.walkingthecourses.com) if they wish to do so.
On arrival at Kelso, Farquhar will have covered 1,679 miles. His total raised now sits at £185,000. There will be a Walking The Courses stand on the racecourse on Sunday, where he and his team will be collecting donations.
Richard Landale, Managing Director of Kelso Racecourse, said: "What Richard Farquhar is trying to do is quite remarkable. It will be a huge achievement to walk round each of the 60 racecourses, on top of walking between them as well."