Over 60,000 people are expected to converge on the Springdale Race Course in Camden on Saturday March 30 for the 81st running of The Carolina Cup.
This annual rite of spring steeplechase race day brings together horses, history and hospitality in order to raise money for local charities.
Cup day itself has become a tradition in South Carolina and is arguably the most popular event on the NSA calendar. It is Camden’s biggest picnic and the rite of spring for college students throughout the South.
(The Marion du Pont Scott Colonial Cup is also a perennial favorite in South Carolina – but in the fall at Springdale Race Course. As the final race on the US Steeplechase racing circuit, the Colonial Cup often decides which horse, owner, trainer and rider wins the coveted Eclipse Award.)
Staff and volunteers at The Carolina Cup Racing Association have a big goal this year – to make charitable contributions that exceed last year’s mark of more than a quarter million dollars.
The fundraising begins with the The Carolina Cup.
“Everybody knows that, in Camden, we tailgate with style, but a lot of folks don’t know that we also tailgate with a heart!” said Teri Leigh Teed, Assistant Director of the CCRA. “When you look at money given to KershawHealth, the Jaycees, the Junior Welfare League along with tickets donated to military families, it comes to more than $250,000.”
The Carolina Cup Racing Association, a non-profit organization, relies on the Carolina Cup and the Colonial Cup races to fulfill its mission of operating Springdale Race Course as both an equestrian and tourism center. Springdale Race Course is a world-renowned, 600-acre European style Thoroughbred racehorse training center that operates year-round and is home to Hall of Fame trainers Jonathan Sheppard and Janet Elliot. Famous equine residents have included Flat Top, Storm Cat, Forever Together, Zaccio and Ruffian.
Learn more at www.carolina-cup.org
For more information about top events in South Carolina take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in South Carolina.