Tel : 01748 821621 Mob: 07984 495089 / 07801 433993 433993
www.jollygoodfun.co.uk
Menu, Fun Days, Workshops, Evening Entertainment,
Children’s Entertainment, Fund Raising, Promotions, Workshops,
Training, Xmas, Balloon Release, Balloon Decorating, Race Night,
HOW TO RUN A RACE NIGHT
Race Nights are great fun and are an excellent way to fund raise. As with most things in life, the more effort you put in before hand the more successful your event will be.
You will need to do the following in advance: -
· Book a venue, ideally with a bar and a kitchen (if you intend to provide supper)
· Advertise the Race Night to ensure plenty of people turn up
· Find sponsors for each of the eight races and ask the sponsors to name their own
race -
e.g., “The ABC Taxis Gallop”.
· Sell all sixty four horses and let the owners name the horses. Put the names on the race card.
· Sell any side bets – e.g., The Tri Cast
· Make sure you have a couple of willing volunteers to run the Tote
· Ask for donations of gifts which can be awarded to the owners of the winning horses
· Organise raffle prizes and make sure you have some raffle tickets to sell on the night
· Organise the food, including helpers to serve and clear away
· If you are going to run your own bar make sure you have the necessary licence
· Arrange to have a float, say £50 in small change
· Ask people to bring pound coins to bet with (otherwise you will run out of change)
· Prepare Race Cards to have on the tables or to give to people as they arrive. Include advertising
and credits for the various sponsors
· Sell entrance tickets or do pay on the door
On the night you will need to ensure that the room is laid out so that everyone can see the screen and you will need a table and chairs for the Tote plus a cash box to store the profit from each race and a separate box or dish to keep the float in.
It usually takes about 10 minutes to run the Tote prior to a race and 2 – 3 minutes for the race itself so allow 15 minutes to complete each race. A typical programme might be 7.30pm doors open. First four races
8pm – 9pm, supper then last four races 9.30pm – 10.30pm. The raffle can take place either during the interval or at the end.
Ron will introduce the evening, explain how the betting works and announce each race, including a good mention for the sponsors. He will also supervise the Tote.
HOW DOES THE BETTING WORK?
People can bet on any horse or horses and buy as many tickets as they like when the
Tote is open. Once the Tote closes 50% of the money taken is put to one side for
the charity and the balance is shared amongst the people who have bet on the winning
horse. Equal shares according to the number of tickets held. The computation is
simple and the winners are paid out as soon as the race is over and before the Tote
re-
HOW MUCH MONEY CAN WE MAKE?
Assuming that you have managed to beg, steal or borrow prizes for the winning owners,
your takings could be something like this: -
Race Sponsors @ £30 each x eight races = £240
Horses @ £3 each x 64 = £192
Entrance Tickets @ £3.50 each x 100 = £350
Sale of Tote Tickets on the night x 800 = £800
Raffle = £100
Tri Cast = £336
TOTAL = £2016
Deductions
Pie and Peas x 100 = £250
50% pay out on Tote = £400
Fees = £225
TOTAL = £875
TOTAL PROFIT FOR THE EVENING = £1141
This is actually a modest speculation as often people are quite generous and will bet more than £1 on each race and if you run side bets such as the Tri Cast your takings can increase considerably.
You can also auction the horses on the last race to make even more money!
CLIENT ENDORSEMENTS
Ron, thank you for all your hard work and for making the evening such a success within the way you professionally presented the horse race night at Vimmy Barracks on 9 Feb 06. We managed to raise £560 which will go to the baby care unit at Northallerton Hospital & Dalesman Nursery at Catterick. Once again thanks and I will be sure to pass on your name to anyone who is contemplating a charity horse race night.
Cheers Billy Young
Hi Ron
I would just like to thank you for Friday night’s Race Event. It was an excellent night and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, something that wouldn’t have been possible without your professionalism, excellent advice, organisational skills, expertise and experience of such an event, add to that the fact you are a fantastic compére, as well as adding extra humour to the night. When I was looking for a company to run the night I rang round a few people and they couldn’t wait to get me off the phone, but you won my business because you were completely opposite. You gave me plenty of information about how to organise a race night and showed me the importance of preparation for the event, something that contributed to the club making over £1000 profit.
I will definitely be using you again for our next race night sometime in September and with a bit better organisation we could make even more money.
Cheers
Chris Watkinson, Haxby United FC
“Absolutely quality night! Raised over our estimation. Will be using again for an absolutely brilliant night of entertainment”.
Eastfield Sports Club, Scarborough
“Well done Ron, thanks very much for a great race night. This is our fourth and by far and away the best yet. Thanks again, we will most certainly see you again”.
Buttershaw Youth, Bradford
“The race night was a great success; we raised over £400 towards church funds – thanks for a professional and enjoyable evening”.
St Mary’s Church, Boston Spa
“Many thanks Ron on a most enjoyable evening. Not only was the night a financial success but a great time was had by all. We’ll definitely be having you back. Once again MASSIVE THANKS”.
Huntswood JFC, Liverpool
“Many thanks for a very successful fund raising evening at the Railway Hotel. A very enjoyable social event as well as raising valuable funds for the club”.
Park Cricket Club, Lynn, Cheshire
“Just a quick note to say thanks for last night we have had some really positive feedback and my manager was very pleased. We couldn’t have done it without you so thanks you were great”.
KPMG, Leeds
“Ron, I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank you (and your helpers) for last Thursday night. Everyone had a fantastic evening. Since the event I’ve had loads of people coming up and thanking me for the evening. A lot of people also praised your talents and enthusiasm. The evening ran like clockwork.
Many Thanks
Royal Sun Alliance, Leeds
