MORE than £640,000 has been raised at a charity raceday held by the cancer-charity Macmillan.

On Saturday more than 20,000 people attended York Racecourse for the 49th staging of the raceday.

A main feature of the day, 11 jockeys took part in the Ernest Cooper Macmillan 'Ride of Their Lives', of which was won by Charlotte Atkinson, 25, of Harrogate.

The Northern Echo:

Lee Cooper, Director at Ernest Cooper Transport sponsor of the Ride of Their Lives race said: "All the riders have done this for an amazing charity which is close to all of our hearts.

"Passionate individuals riding for one common goal, raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and Ernest Cooper is proud to be support Macmillan."

Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, added:

“On behalf of all our Macmillan nurses, doctors, support workers and cancer experts, I wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who made this year’s Macmillan Charity Raceday such a success.

"Macmillan Cancer Support receives no government funding and relies almost entirely on donations – we simply couldn’t help the growing number of people who need us, without the support and generosity of everyone here today.

"You will help ensure Macmillan can continue to be there for people living with cancer, from the moment of their diagnosis.”