In partnership with the West Virginia affiliate of Susan G. Komen, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races has scheduled a weekend of activities dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.
During the Sept. 18-19 weekend, the West Virginia track will host "Laugh for the Cure" featuring comedian Paul Reiser, the seventh annual Race for the Ribbon track walk, a 5K fun run, and a Sept. 19 race card that includes the Charles Town Oaks (gr. III).
Best known for his role in the 1990s TV series "Mad About You," Reiser was honored as one of Comedy Central's 2004 "100 Greatest Standups of All Time." Tickets will be available at Ticketmaster.com. Proceeds from the Sept. 18 show and auction will benefit Komen's West Virginia affiliate.
Events on Saturday, Sept. 19 begin at 9 a.m. (Eastern) with the inaugural addition of a 5K fun run that will start and finish at Hollywood Casino. The event is open to runners of all ages with details on registration for the Race for the Ribbon 5K available here.
Following the 5K is the weekend's signature event—the noon ceremonial walk around the track where each $25 donation for participation in the walk will come with a commemorative T-shirt. Throughout the day, there will be a pink lemonade stand, silent auction, and pink hat contest that will award cash prizes for "best hats in show."
"For seven years our employees and the community have embraced Race for the Ribbon wholeheartedly; we look forward to continuing and expanding the tradition this year," said Al Britton, Charles Town's general manager. "We are proud to partner with Susan G. Komen's West Virginia Affiliate and are honored to help fund services, screenings and treatments for a disease that has touched so many of our lives."
Included among the six stakes on the Sept. 19 race card with a first post time of 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) are the $350,000 Charles Town Oaks (gr. III) for 3-year-old fillies and The Pink Ribbon Stakes. The card will be televised by HRTV.
"Having attracted horses like Groupie Doll, So Many Ways, Book Review, Her Smile, and Miss Behaviour, the Charles Town Oaks has been a very productive race in the 3-year-old filly sprint division, but we're also proud of how the day as a whole has developed," said Charles Town's vice president of racing operations Erich Zimny.
The Race for the Ribbon card is responsible for the three largest non-Charles Town Classic day all-sources handle figures in track history, with the 2013 card standing as the only non-Classic one to ever top $2 million in wagering.