WIN A RACEHORSE FOR A SEASON WITH SIS & HELP THE INTERNATIONAL TRACING & MESSAGING SERVICE OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS

30 December 2003 - National Hunt racing has received a welcome boost with the announcement that Satellite Information Services (SIS) is to sponsor a nationwide competition to “Win a racehorse for a season” in aid of the British Red Cross Queen Mother Memorial Fund.

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s trainer, Nicky Henderson, who is now training her late mother’s horses for Her Majesty The Queen, has agreed to lease to the Fund a Horse for the National Hunt season 2004/5. This horse will be trained by Henderson, and the SIS sponsorship will cover all training fees and associated costs.

Punters can win ownership of the horse for the National Hunt season by buying a ticket for £5.00 on many racecourses around the country until 12th March, when the winner’s name will be drawn by SIS Chief Executive David Holdgate at Sandown Park. The presentation of the trainer and winner will take place at the Cheltenham Festival, on Queen Mother Champion Chase Day on Wednesday 17 March 2004.

The new owner will have his/her own racing colours, and be the registered owner of the horse for the season. The horse will come from one of the top National Hunt Bloodlines, so drawing the winning ticket could be an exciting prospect for one lucky punter, as prize money won by the horse will be kept by the winner.

The many volunteers who are helping the Queen Mother Memorial Fund will run a small stand at many race meetings throughout January, February and March, to sell draw tickets and answer questions about the competition.

The funds from draw ticket sales, which are raised in the Queen Mother’s memory, will help the Tracing and Message Service of the British Red Cross in their work to re-unite families separated by conflict. This was a cause particularly close to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, as during the First World War she was able to contact her brother, who was being held prisoner of war, via this Service.

To promote sales of the draw tickets, the Fund volunteers will be organising special events at race meetings at Ascot on Saturday 31 January, at Newbury on Saturday 14 February, at Sandown Park on Friday 12 March and at Cheltenham on Wednesday 17 March. Each venue will host a lunch for up to 200 people, with an auction after lunch. There will be a parade of the Queen Mother’s retired racehorses at Ascot on 31 January.

Announcing the sponsorship, David Holdgate praised the work of the Tracing and Messaging Service, and encouraged punters to buy draw tickets in memory of the Queen Mother. “ We at SIS are delighted to sponsor this competition and to support this very important Red Cross service,” he said. “International communications are at the core of our business, so we hope the money raised will train more operators for fieldwork and provide new technology for use by the International Tracing and Message Service around the world.”

For further information contact Nick Wood-Dow on 0207 939 7939 or 07713 681322.

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