Sky Bet staff muck in to help out racehorse charity in Yorkshire

FORTY EMPLOYEES from Leedsbased Sky Betting & Gaming got their hands dirty when they volunteered at Yorkshire-based New Beginnings – a charity which rehabilitates and rehomes former racehorses.

The charity is setting up a new home at Bishop Wilton and is getting the yard ready for up to 20 horses that will move in next month.

Staff members spent time over two days mucking out the stables, cutting grass and repairing and painting fences.

Carl Barker, HR Advisor at Sky Betting and Gaming, said: “New Beginnings is such a unique charity and it’s amazing to see an organisation dedicated to preparing retired racehorses for the next stage of their life.

“It was great to assist the hardworking New Beginnings staff and to see our handiwork come together throughout the day.

“It’s not every day that we get to come out to organisations like this and spend time nestled in the North Yorkshire countryside.”

Kevin Atkinson, director at New Beginnings, added: “This isn’t the first time the Sky Betting & Gaming team has come down to help us out and we’re really grateful they returned for the fifth year running.

“We’ve seen a real transformation over the two days and the sheer volume of helping hands makes a massive difference to our most time-consuming jobs and tasks, especially as we start our chapter at the new yard.”

Along with fundraising events, there will be collection buckets and raceday parades of some of their resident star names – including Mister McGoldrick, multiple Wetherby Racecourse winner, who has been living with the charity since his retirement five years years ago.