Winners will again mean more than ever from tonight when Victoria’s brilliant army will again begin to tick the harness racing tally over for Team Teal.
Already the movement has put almost $3 million into the coffers of WomenCan to help women with ovarian cancer, including research, education and awareness across Australia and New Zealand.
Among those chasing winners will be Victoria’s Team Teal ambassadors Kerryn Manning, Jodi Quinlan, Jackie Barker and Kate Gath, who said the movement was “something we are going to keep doing until we find a cure”.
“Every year it’s something I’m honoured to be an ambassador for and to raise funds,” Gath told TrotsVision. “It’s a cancer that the mortality rate is so high. We really need the funding to get the research done and try and find a cure. It touches everyone.”
Inspired and driven by Victorian trots breeder Duncan McPherson, in honour of his late wife Lynne, Victoria’s reinswomen have raced for the cause since 2016.
One constant has been the support of TAB, which matches Harness Racing Victoria’s donation of $200 every time a female driver wins between February 1 and March 15.
TAB head of sponsorship Kate Waugh said they were “delighted to offer our support to the WomenCan charity alongside the harness racing industry”.
“We’re supporting the campaign both financially and through our breath of owned channels,” she said. “We urge others to get involved in whatever way they can.”
Every year 6800 women are diagnosed with gynaecological cancer and five die each day, making ovarian cancer one of the deadliest of women’s cancers.
WomenCan head of fundraising and development Karen Livingstone said the Team Teal movement, which now extends across Australasia, raised “funds that support vital research and education programs”.
“WomenCan is very grateful for Tabcorp (and the harness racing industry’s) continued support and loyalty, benefiting women and their families now and into the future,” Livingstone said.
Click here to follow their progress and learn more.
by Michael Howard, for Harness Racing Victoria