Mascots Raise Money For Charity

Rufus the Bear lost his head – literally – over finishing second in the world’s largest mascot race.

Eighty-two mascots competed Sunday in the eighth annual Mascot Gold Cup Race at Wetherby Racecourse in Yorkshire, England. The fastest 1 minute, 15 seconds in mascot sports raised 12,000 pounds ($18,582) for the Sue Ryder Hospice and 5,000 pounds ($7,742) for other causes.

After early leader Snappy the Alligator went down in the 1-furlong race and ran into race stewards on the side of the course once back up, Rufus the Bear, who finished second in the event last year, outdistanced Peanuts the Penguin (despite Rufus having to keep a hand on his head for balance). Rufus seemed to have the race in hand, but a late rush on the outside by Flash the Starlight Hike Star left Rufus the bridesmaid once again. Stunned, the individual inside the Rufus costume pulled off the giant head to see who stole his glory. Off balance, the individual hit the turf and the Rufus head went rolling ahead for yards. Quite a scene!

While not a front-runner, Josh Hudson puts forth a noteworthy effort in the contest appropriately wearing a giant heart costume. Hudson, 17, has a rare heart condition known as transposition of the arteries and is the only person with the condition to live past age 8. He raised 106 pounds ($164) for Heart Research UK through his effort.

Wearing the giant heart had its detriments, Hudson told the Bradford Telegraph & Argus.

“It was quite tiring,” he said of the race. “It is an unsuitable costume when the wind catches it. I’d like to do something like that again, but I don’t know what’s next. It was nice to raise the money.”

Source:  http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10387539.Sue_Ryder_Mascot_Race_raises___12_000_for_Manorlands_hospice Photo By: Dave Woodhead