The Skywards frequent flyer programme gave away a total of 1.5 million miles at the recent Dubai World Cup to the lucky winners of its 'Thanks a Million' raffle promotion which raised Dh217,000 ($59,000) for charity!

UK-based S Waller won the top prize of one million Skywards Miles, equivalent to 20 return Economy tickets from Dubai to anywhere in Europe!

The two other prizes of 250,000 Skywards Miles each, were won by Yasser Al Fardan and Monica Pugarin, who are both from Dubai. They now have the equivalent of five return Economy tickets to Europe each.

Brian LaBelle, Skywards' general manager, said: "This is the third year we have held the 'Thanks a Million' draw at the Dubai World Cup. With its growing popularity, we have increased the prizes this year, giving more people a chance to win.

The proceeds of this year's Thanks a Million draw will be added to the Dh400,OOO already raised in previous draws at the Dubai World Cup for the building of an indoor arena to enable the young riders to continue their therapy during the hot summer months. Satish Seemar, Dubai's Zabeel Stables trainer and director of RDAD, thanked the Skywards team for their efforts, saying: "The date of construction of the arena is coming closer every year due to the funds raised by the draw, which means the children will soon be able to ride all year round."