SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) - Most people go to the annual Far Hills Race Meeting to see the power of horses.

This year they will see a unique display of horsepower at the races - three police vehicles wrapped in pink to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The thousands who attend the annual event, scheduled for Oct. 19 at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, will have the opportunity to sign their names on the cars to show their support of the fight against breast cancer, Ron Kennedy, of the Far Hills Race Meeting Association, said Friday morning at a news conference on the steps of the Historic Courthouse to unveil the pink vehicles.

Supporting health care has always been the primary mission of the Far Hills Race Meeting, Kennedy said.

The event, which is marking its 99th anniversary this month, has donated more than $18 million to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, which honored the event’s continuing support by naming its cancer care facility, the Steeplechase Cancer Care Center.

Last year, the Far Hills event donated $100,000 to the center, said Deidre Blaus, vice president of the Steeplechase Cancer Care Center. About a third of the center’s patients have breast cancer, she said.

The Far Hills event also supports five other charities - Cancer Support Community of Central Jersey, Community in Crisis, LifeCamp, the ARC of Somerset County and the Bonnie Brae School.

The idea to wrap the police vehicles in pink for October originated with the Franklin Township PBA, said Somerset County Prosecutor Michael Robertson.

The vehicles will be used by the Franklin and Branchburg police departments and the prosecutor’s office. The cars are part of Robertson’s campaign to promote engagement between law enforcement and the community.

“It’s working,” the prosecutor said, adding that he has already received calls from Franklin residents who had seen the pink car on the street.

“What better way to create community awareness,” Robertson said, adding that he hoped next year, all police departments in the county would have at least one pink vehicle.

“This campaign is proof positive that our police officers are deeply dedicated to the communities they serve,” he said.

Besides improving relations with the community, Robertson emphasized that the pink police vehicles will raise awareness of breast cancer.

“One in eight women will be affected by breast cancer in their lifetime,” Robertson said. “Early detection is a key factor in offering more treatment options and increasing survivability.”

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Information from: Courier News (Bridgewater, N.J.) , http://www.mycentraljersey.com

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