Our 6 top tips for making the most out of your fundraising race night

1 Sell admission tickets

The price of these should not be too high. You will make more money by encouraging as many people as possible to attend your race night. Food is often provided and the ticket price should normally cover this.

2 Find sponsors for each race

There are normally 8 races, so 8 sponsors at £25 each is a very good start. The sponsorship can of course be any amount and it is often possible to find a sponsor for the whole evening as well as for individual races. Sponsors have a race named after them and frequent mentions on the evening.

3 Racecards

Most people like to produce their own racecards. This has many benefits. Items can be added right up to the last minute before you print them e.g. sponsors, adverts, owners. You can also have great fun making up the horse names, or people buying horses can choose their own horse name. We will supply samples to give you lots of ideas.

4 Sell the horses in advance of the evening

If a horse wins, the person 'owning' it receives a prize. Only sell the horses in the first 7 races (56 horses in total). Selling each horse for as little as £2 will raise £112. You then need 7 prizes for the winning owners (usually wine or cash). If you sell the 56 horses very easily, sell 56 jockeys as well!

5 Betting on each race

This is the money you raise on the night. People choose a horse or horses in each race and place their bets. When paying out the winners, a portion is kept back towards your fundraising, usually around 50%. This is why it is important to have as many there as possible. The minimum bet is normally £1.

6 The last race (the auction race)

Instead of selling the horses in advance, each horse is sold in turn to the highest bidder, who becomes the owner. The winning owner receives a portion of the total kitty (usually half) and the rest goes to your funds. this race can raise anything from £20 to hundreds of pounds (last year's record was £2000).