Former Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales has named a racehorse after Dan Burn.
Eales, who was appointed by PIF as the club’s CEO in July 2022, sadly had to step down from his position on health grounds.
The former Atlanta president has now left the club, with David Hopkinson appointed as his replacement at Newcastle United.
Eales formally stepped down from his position this month but is eager to remain in contact with people at the club.
It has been a fantastic three years at St James’ Park, and the 53-year-old wants to remain on speaking terms with his former colleagues.
Indeed, he’s come up with a genius way of ensuring that while also raising money for a great cause.
Darren Eales names racehorse after Dan Burn
On Friday, the club’s official Twitter account posted part of an interview with Eales.
He talked of how strong the relationships he formed at the club are and how he wanted to leave those he worked alongside with something.
Eales has given some of those inside the club shares in a racehorse and it’s been named after Burn. The name needed to start with a ‘G’, however, so it has been called Giant Dan Burn.
The defender had to give his permission to use it, and he gladly did so.
Amazingly, part of the proceeds earned from the horse will go towards the Newcastle United Foundation, which runs community, education, health and wellbeing, and sports programmes delivered around areas such as Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside and Gateshead.
Eales will be donating his share towards Bright Red, a charity designed to improve the lives and treatment of people in the north of England who are dealing with blood cancer.
He said: “I’ve been really fortunate in terms of the people I’ve worked with, I can count a lot of them as really good friends.
“I wanted to do something, so I came up with an idea which almost forces everyone to keep in touch with me.
“So, for all the management team and the coaches, I gave them a share in a racehorse.
“So, the idea is we’ll have a WhatsApp group. It’s a horse that we’re hoping that, you know if things go really well, will run in the Derby in 2027.
“The syndicate that we’re with said I could name the horse. The only caveat to that was that it had to start with the letter ‘G’ because it’s part of the process.
“I wanted something to embody what it means to be Newcastle United, whether that’s an item or a person. I thought to myself, ‘what’s bigger and better than Big Dan Burn?’
“Giant Dan Burn! So, we called it Giant Dan Burn. Dan’s been great about it because I had to get his permission to use his name. We’ve agreed that his share, we’re going to give to the Newcastle United Foundation.
“I’m giving my share to Bright Red, which is a charity organisation for people with blood cancer in the North East to help their progress and their treatment.”
PIF’s official statement on Darren Eales leaving Newcastle United
Earlier this month, PIF released a statement about Newcastle United’s new CEO.
While chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was obviously praising Hopkinson following his appointment, he also made a note of thanking Eales for all of his hard work.
His statement read: “I would like to personally thank Darren Eales for his exceptional work and leadership, as well as his friendship, over the last three years.”
Eales oversaw a successful period at Newcastle, growing revenues while helping deliver a competitive team on the pitch.
In March, the club ended a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy by winning the Carabao Cup.
A very successful appointment, it’s brilliant to see Eales continuing to remain part of the family in the North East.
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