TEN amateur jockeys are set to raise more than £140,000 for charity when they ride in their first ever horse race at York Racecourse on Saturday.

The Ride of Their Lives race will be part of the Macmillan Cancer Support Charity Raceday, which takes place on the second day of a two-day meeting on Knavesmire.

Amongst the riders will be Owen Dukes, 48, from Acklam, Malton, with Ruth Carr, 39, from Stillington, Debra Boyes, 35, from Pickering, and Christine Swiers, from near Boroughbridge.

Christine, a company secretary, who will be riding the Tim Easterby-trained horse Relight My Fire which won last year's charity race, said it would be the biggest personal challenge of her life.

"I love horses and have been riding since childhood but I have never ridden in a race before, so this is a massive ask," she said.

A Macmillan spokeswoman said the ten had so far raised a combined total of £144,000 in sponsorship - a record for the race.

The raceday has raised more than £6.5 million for Macmillan and other charitable causes since it was first held in 1971, and other fundraising events on Saturday will include luncheons, a charity auction, raffles and bucket collection.

The spokeswoman said people could bid online in the auction by going to www.macmillanyorkraceday.com, and added: “We’re so grateful these amateur riders are taking on such a huge physical challenge to raise money for Macmillan, which helps fund our vital services which are there for anyone affected by cancer.”

Racecourse spokesman James Brennan said Saturday's meeting, which also included a professional racing programme and another race featuring amateur female jockeys, The Queen Mother's Cup, was set to attract a crowd of between 25,000 and 28,000. He said tomorrow's 'mid-summer meeting' was likely to attract about 10,000.

Weather forecasters predict that the recent warm and sunny weather in York will come to an end by tonight, with cooler, cloudier and showery weather expected tomorrow and on Saturday.